Plants and animals that appear in the novel series.

Flora and Fauna

This is a general introduction to common creatures. Most were known during the Primary Epoch, survived the Killing Swath, and now continue in the Secondary Epoch, although they have changed dramatically in some cases. This is a partial list. Many other raw and semi-improved creatures are profiled elsewhere in close association with Tatchlan beings and other specific aspects of cluster life. None of these beings appear in every novel, and they are listed below in no particular order beyond general types. General categories are limited, and some species occupy more than one due to their development or use.

Notably, animals caught or bred for food had a traditional value based on how close they resided to the Skin of Anu. This meant fish were more prized as food than flying insects and fowl, who spent much of their time in the ‘thin and empty’ air.

Plants

Nimindal, Weyr Bush or ‘Golden Maid,’ Jezin, Chitazan Leaves, Natlay, Dream Moss, Elara, Kanart Mushroom

Plant/Animal

Bowvow Tree, Memanu, Sivist

Insects

Embodiment of Perfection, Thanners, Blood Midges, Midge’s role in Tatchlan Modifications, Midge’s role in defeating Suvuka, Soltana Worm, Warbsa Beetle, Teer Beetle, Karthala

Venerable Insect Societies

Vikavan, Gandahatapan - the ‘Perfection of the Air,’ Ketukku - the ‘Tower Builders,’ Ketukku peaceable relations, Mahakram, Wars between Gandahatapan and Mahakram

Air Creatures

Xumkuka (Beloved Xumkuka - Koru) (Royal Xumkuka - Yelda), Xumkuka and the Chelyaka, Xumkuka and Menem, Xumkuku and Danam Yelda, Xumkuka and Yakku, Kumastam, Tapu, Doreth, Doreth and Yelda, Gelion Thrush, Skayo, Sirintya, Sirintya and Gandahatapan, Sirintya and Kumastam

Water Creatures

Wum, Wum and Suvuka, Wum and Kudurapala, Wum Orb, Tumatch, Varox, Sheret, Blue Star

Land Creatures

Pathuda, Queldeday, Danta, Danta on Thermistal, Danta Horn Musical Instruments, Thyma, Tatchlan tames the beasts, Toohund, Thethelem

Plagues

Brangnam Plague, Jimin Plague, Tarops

Within the Flesh of Anu

Jesplace

Plants

Nimindal

A specially designed plant giving off scents meant to induce euphoria. It is planted in ceremonial locations, such as Mantle Establishments and Invocate Enclaves, to enhance these settings. They are occasionally brought to cluster and Encirclement ritual functions and other sites to intensify these events. For this reason, they are classified as a mild Vision Window. This plant is native to central Statos-Vey and southern Rho-Jashun.

Weyr Bush or ‘Golden Maid’

A shrub native to central and northern Thermistal, its broad dark leaves are noted for turning many colours when exposed to Nu’s Eye for prolonged periods. Its blossoms are a vivid yellow. It also came to be called The Golden Maid in memory of Shez-Teval, who had her revelations when witnessing a Burning Blossom and whose hair was said to be a similar colour to the blossoms.

Jezin

A most-ancient hybrid of the Tolku, it is a moss that grows thick on vertical surfaces. It is irritating to other creatures but harmless to the Tolku and their descendants. The Tolku covered the outer walls of their compounds with the growth, and it was customary for visitors to press their faces into the moss. The moss would retreat and form a clear impression of their face, remaining for months or even years. This moss originated in the equatorial regions of central Statos-Vey and southern Rho-Jashun. It was not until the Yeldic innovation of Upata Bulbs, who would not suffer the moss to cling to their skin, that the practice diminished in the Secondary Epoch. It remains on the lifeless outer walls of public structures.

Chitazan Leaves

This plant's broad and shining leaves are traditionally thought to be the cleanest holder of food. Throughout history, royalty and other esteemed society members only ate off these leaves. They are also used to wrap Charsha Mother figures to ensure they do not become too hard before the next planting season and will serve as hosts for the symbolic birth of new life. This plant is native to the equatorial regions.

Natlay

This is a species of tall grass, brilliant red, known to live unharmed around the edges of Hungry Rock. This ring formation of vivid grasses around the circular pond is known as its ‘beard.’ They have tiny perennial flowers that draw many insects to them. While most blossoms accept their attention, some are different.

They grow out of a particular stem, having a tiny spring at its base. When an insect alights on these blossoms, the spring sends the insect high into the air. While many recover and return to feed, a small number fall onto the Hungry Rock and are absorbed. Traditionally, this was seen as the Natlay’s payment to the Hungry Rock for protecting it from the grazers. Natlay grasses are very hardy and will grow wherever Hungry Rock resides, meaning in all territories of Anu.

Dream Moss

This is an unlikely remnant from the Suvuka. The ancient enemy of the Tolku used this organism to aid in visions, particularly at certain rites. While the Suvuka did not practice anything but the most basic forms of agriculture, they developed sufficient skill and knowledge to encourage the growth of Dream Moss in amenable locations. For most of their existence, the Suvuka limited the use of Dream Moss to senior members of their herds. It appears it was mainly cultivated within the Mushumafal Peninsula, the southernmost portion of the continent. As this region was east of the later Vettencore Passage, the Suvuka still had access to it following their failed Onslaught against the Tolku.

Somehow, the Tolku escaping the first Suvuka Onslaught learned of this moss property, which is expected on the northern coasts of Statos-Vey and southern Rho-Jashun. Thus, the Tolku began continuously experimenting and refining this living treasure, taking on a significant role in many celebrations and marking rites of passage.

In the Secondary Epoch, the Yakku and Koru independently rediscovered the moss and its powerful properties and incorporated them into their different cultures as Vision Windows. They were further refined and diversified in both cases to serve various needs. The Yelda inherited the Koru traditions around its use and continued them while introducing modifications of their own. While used extensively in urban settings, they gained particular importance among Rural Clusters.

This Primary Epoch Icon shows the tiny central bulb rising from the surrounding moss. As can be seen, its garish display makes it easy to find. It also has a powerful aroma. The central bulb contains the Vision Window properties. This icon also evokes the euphoria of its application.

Elara

This vibrant moss grows near the moist eastern coasts of southern Statos-Vey, Thermistal and elsewhere. Elara is known to be a primary food of the Sheret, which will travel many andas inland to find it.

Kanart

This small green mushroom has saved countless millions of lives. It naturally grows down from ceilings of damp, underground caverns, yet it can shield all below them from the harmful darts of a full Burning Blossom.

This was discovered (or some suggest there is evidence the Tolku also learned of this remarkable ability during the late Primary Epoch period) by the Koru early in the Secondary Epoch and used to coat the inside walls of their Living Mountains. They proved able to shield most of the malignancy of a Burning Blossom from reaching the Koru sheltering in their vast interiors.

The Kanart are classified as Recovered Ones of the first rank, Converted, meaning they were rediscovered after The Killing Swath by the Guardians entering the Sanctuaries in the Mulungu Mountains on Rho-Jashun. The emerging Koru modified them within the Living System of Tatchlan throughout the Secondary Epoch.

As the power of the Blossom Cycles grew, the Koru became increasingly sensitive until the Kanart was no longer sufficient. At the same time, the Daman Yelda were found to benefit from the same plantings inside their above-ground cluster compounds. Throughout the Second Epoch, this humble mushroom continued to serve in this magnificent capacity.

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Plant/Animal

Bowvow Tree

These natives of all but the polar regions resemble trees in many ways but are quite unlike them in a few key ways. It stands rooted in the ground, shrouded in distinctive foliage, but closer examination reveals its bark generates heat and a powerful and pleasant scent. The creature also produces a long series of rhythmic ‘drumming’ sounds deep inside the trunk. There are a variety of conditions bringing this about; an observer might be excused for saying it appears more likely to happen if it is ‘excited.’ These sounds also vary according to the circumference of the trunk. The larger the tree, the deeper and slower the beat. Another distinguishing feature is how these beings can right themselves after violent storms or Anu quakes. There are many instances where even ancients can raise themselves after being knocked over.

Small creatures learn to use it as a refuge from predators. The smallest prodding by the tiniest bird will quickly produce an opening the creature can enter. Once it closes, the strongest animal cannot breach the seal from the outside. Inside, the creature is safe, but generally, they stay for only a brief time.

Equally, only small proddings are needed for the creature to travel to a different location on the trunk and exit the temporary shelter. As long as they are inside, the Bowvow subtly feeds on it. The creature is entirely consumed if it does not want to come out or falls asleep. Many provide their dead to the Bowvow.

This is seen as a unique channel to Anu herself, so they share the title ‘Living Portal’ with the Hungry Rock, able to conduct the offering deep into Anu. There is also the novel use of Tatchlan by the Yakku. One aspect of Yakku culture is Body Mysticism, meaning their dead are ‘fed’ to the Bowvow. While this was common among the Tolku of the Primary Epoch and, to a lesser extent, the Koru of their own time, this practice has led to other intensive relations between the Yakku and the Bowvow. Children are ‘married’ to several saplings and are expected to tend to them as spouses throughout their lives. There is also generational use of them as living repositories of their ancestors. Out of this practice emerged the technique of transforming this creature into a new being in ways the Koru and Yelda could not. (See Wajah).

This Icon is unchanged from the Primary Epoch and shows the being as ingesting death and giving birth to a new life on its large bows. The eye was traditionally meant to signify this as an awakened being, but it has been granted a new significance in later times. One other ambiguous entity on Anu absorbs all it comes into contact with. This non-living Consumption Monolith engenders none of the cultural affection bestowed on the Bowvow or Hungry Rock.

Memanu

A unique being usually found in the tropics, although they can range over most of Statos-Vey due to its mild climate. To a lesser extent, they occupy sheltered pockets of southern Rho-Jashun and are nearly unknown on Thermistal. They live in underground colonies between twenty to as many as three hundred. During the night, they are slumbering below the Skin of Anu. As Nu rises, the head of each emerges, followed by a long, elastic trunk. Their bodies stretch to a fantastic height, and their buds open like a giant flower. They feed on the creatures of the high currents and thrive under the very ‘Eye of the Fierce Daymaker.’ They are famous both for their glorious blossoms, varying among the colony, and they bend and turn with the high currents, lending themselves to assist in weather forecasting.

Their only known relative is the Sivist, another tubular creature found on all three continents. The largest and best known are the Royal Sivist, located mainly in the forests and jungles of Thermistal, although some have been found in similar terrain in northern Rho-Jashun. The Yakku have transformed the Sivist; see ‘Waving Arms.’

In prehistoric times, the Memanu were revered by the Chelyaka, who thought they knew where their fellows were on the far side of the inner sphere and stretched across the internal space to meet them. They believed some of their prophets latched onto them at their rising and rode past Nu and the moons before meeting Memanu from the other side of the inner sphere and taking them down to the far side's surface.

Later, the followers of the Menem Religion gave them a similar role in their cosmology. The Memanu became messengers from Anu to Nu. As the Chelyakans before them, followers of Menem would attach messages and offerings to their trunk as it rose at dawn. They are dubbed the ‘glorious swaying ones.’ They saw them as refuges for the trapped invisible Menem, who could occasionally be seen floating around the opened blossom.

Sivist

This dark tubular creature lives in dense stands of mature forest and jungle on both Thermistal and Rho-Jashun, with occasional sightings in southern Statos-Vey. This creature has many varieties, but all live on the trunks of mature trees, feeding on the growths on the bark. Many varieties travel from tree to tree, while some stay with a single tree their entire lives, which can extend up to thirty years or more. The most sizeable members of the Sivist family are known as the Royal Sivist and are found mainly in western Thermistal and northern Rho-Jashun. These creatures can grow the length of most mature trees and tend to lock onto one tree or a close set of trees. They are known for wiping the bark clean of other growths, seeking out any damage or weakness, and attacking the host tree. Once found, they attack the bark and then the trunk. They emit a signal that draws younger sivist of the same species, and a feeding frenzy occurs.

In what is one of the more strange formations known, the tree is dismembered into sections, and each creature secures a portion and becomes rigidly upright, holding its meal vertically over its suction mouth and gradually consuming it whole. During their stand in this formation, which can last several two-weeks, mating occurs. The females deflate once the trunk is finished, forming a sphere where the eggs quickly develop and hatch. The males remain, their bodies bowed over the round females. The males have been seen to strike any predator approaching the brood, although their tiny eyes are not well suited to surveying distance movement. Thymas and other creatures have been observed bobbing and weaving as tree branches in the wind to confuse them while they attack. The females are vulnerable at this time, and entire groups can be destroyed. Once the eggs hatch, the adults move away, and the young quickly spread in all directions to avoid waiting predators and begin their life cycle. The Sivist also have distant relations to the Memanu.

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Insects

Embodiment of Perfection

The Primary Masters, particularly the Uluvatu Masters, venerated Insects as the embodiment of Perfection. They viewed solitary insects as having a simplicity and genius unmatched in the rest of life. They viewed insect societies as the epitome of a society free of Self-Absorption.

Note, while most insects are harvested in a controlled fashion for food, in some instances composing a large portion of cluster diets, the following have distinguished themselves in various ways and are not eaten except in extreme need. For insects significantly modified by the Living System, see Koru Insects and Insect Societies.

Thanners

This beetle is found in the temperate zones of Anu, primarily most of central and southern Thermistal and Rho-Jashun, along with south Statos-Vey. They are also occasionally found in the equatorial zones of Central Statos-Vey and have been noted flying across the Panchala Sea at certain junctures where the many islands form a navigable chain.

In successive quarterly cycles throughout the year, these insects fill the air to mate and are known to travel hundreds of andas during their final stage of life, lasting between one and four two-weeks. Unlike most other creatures, they stagger this final stage of their life in generations throughout the year. This often means that the next emerges as one generation ends its journey.

Each generation mates repeatedly throughout their travels before laying their eggs, which hatch into grubs, living many years beneath the loam.

This rapid and intensive activity is known to aerate loam, allowing much else to thrive. Seasonal storms often interrupt this pattern, leading to entire generations either remaining beneath the surface or being destroyed, only to be followed by a successive generation.

While their final mating cycle is a wonder, their primary claim to fame comes from their garish wing display and rhythmic song. The sound of their call is like a great rattle shaken three times; after a brief pause, it is answered by another series of three calls. Large numbers synchronize this call while moving up tree trunks or other vertical surfaces in increments as part of their mating display. At the same time, they open up their striking wings and flutter them, even though their call comes from a rasping of their hind legs on their rough flanks.

These small and colourful creatures have been beloved throughout the epochs, appearing in literature, song, and drama, and their forms are part of the emblems and icons of various cultures. Unique rattles have long been used in theatrical performances and ceremonies to signify the fall of night. Notably, this custom is most pronounced in Central Statos-Vey, where they are infrequently seen or heard.

Blood Midges

This is a general term for a large group of night-flying pests which bite and suck blood. This is a common irritant in the equatorial regions, primarily on Statos-Vey. The Koru are less subject to them, given their underground life, yet they still take extensive measures against them. The Yakku’s Viracocha realm has many predators keeping their numbers in check, but they also have developed oils and potions they coat themselves with.

Blood Midges primarily affect the Yelda, most of whom live in the tropics, yet they take little care in defending themselves against them. This is for several reasons.

One is the known fact the Uluvatu Masters, while not perfecting the Midges themselves, did modify many symbiotic beings attaching themselves to them, thus making them carriers of many Tatchlan improvements. A widespread belief among modern Yelda of Statos-Vey maintains that new enhancements are introduced in the present day in this fashion, so they leave their skin open to them.

It is also known that the most-ancient Master Duamang, and later the first Koru Majastas Zudaz-Vozev, employed midges to deliver their weapon against the Suvuka, ending their First Onslaught and leading to their extinction after their Second Onslaught.

The third reason is purely aesthetic. Yeldic skin retains patterning even after repeated skin sheddings, and midge bites are known to survive the process and continue to add rich ornamentation to their skin, which is highly valued. This is especially the case with members of Rural Clusters.

Blood Midges are known to prey on Rural Clusters who, of necessity, often must work at night. As with their urban counterparts, they are not overly concerned and value the enrichment of their skin, but they are worried about adversely affecting their farm animals. Primarily, for this reason, they employ various methods to fool, trap or, when necessary, even kill these creatures. A common strategy is to employ Queldeday around the rural cluster or other public areas. Their bright lights attract the midges, and the Queldeday then trap and consume enormous quantities of them. It is to be noted that the higher incidence of bite marks in rural Yelda makes them very attractive to urban Yelda when they visit urban centres.

The Yeldic Icon for this creature is very different from the Koru icon or the Yakku emblem. These beings, which vary considerably in shape and size, are not shown. This icon is a subtle variation of the one for Yeldic Skin. It displays a small section of a Rural Yelda’s skin, with the general patterning enhanced by a rougher outdoor life. The characteristic darker spots of midge feedings also mark it.

Remarkably, these modest beings have played a fundamental role in establishing the Cluster-of-Clusters Nations and defeating the Suvuka.

Midge’s Role in Tatchlan Modifications
The Primary and Uluvatu Masters took advantage of the simple and easily modified presence of Blood Midges within Tatchlan. At the same time, they enacted profound changes within what was then Th e Ge neral Plain of the Living System. These abundant swarms were outfitted to carry successive generations of refinements to all Tolku Sensitives across the Skin of Anu. Ho nour ed Historians now speculate that one reason Tatchlan became so established on Statos-Vey and the southern coast of Rho-Jashun was the climate favouring the Midges’ disseminations. It is now known that several critical refinements to Sensitives, eventually leading to the formation of the Spokes of the Cluster Wheel, were mainly due to their being visited over many generations by Blood Midges carrying living parcels that enriched and augmented them.

As with all such surface work, this was mirrored and magnified within the Resplendent work of Tatchlan.

Midge’s role in defeating Suvuka

When Master Duamang domesticated the Brangnam Plague to sterilize the Suvuka occupyin g R ho-Jashun, she needed an agent to carry the pathogen to them. She chose to revisit the wisdom of the ancient Uluvatu Masters by taking hold of these ubiquitous pests that had performed such good service for Tatchlan in the past. Blood Midges were known to prey on the hulking beasts at their ears and other small portions of exposed flesh. This required several branches of Midges to be located and modified within Tatchlan to accept and harmlessly carry the plague. They lighted on all their usual blood sources, but the Brangnam would only get off onto Suvuka flesh. In doing so, the Midges were said to be their ‘chariots.’ The Suvuka were undone on the entire Rho-Jashun continent by these diminutive agencies.

Soltana Worm

A significant pest to those communities growing the Charsha crop in the tropics. They thrive in the wet and muddy soil Charsha needs to grow. The worms come every three to four years up through the ground and attack the plants as they begin their second planting. They can devastate the entire crop, leading to the necessity of a third planting. Once they are through, they dig themselves back into the soil and do not reappear for years. Farmers try to predict their cycle and will spread Teer Beetle eggs over the surface just before arrival. If they are correct, the new-hatched predator attacks the prey as soon as they emerge.

Warbsa Beetle

Another pest affecting the Charsha crop. Like the Soltana Worm, their infestations are usually years apart, and they attack the crop in its early stages. They are tiny and climb all over the young plants while feeding on them. They also burrow down and cut the stems of the plants, causing the shallow water they stand in to be covered in their dead leaves.

This is a curious instance where generational attempts to modify these two simple beings within Tatchlan have met with only limited success. While debate continues within specialized gatherings regarding the various causes for these difficulties, the one triumph is the success of fortifying their predators within the Living System to destroy them more efficiently. The most notable case is the Teer Beetle (see immediately below).

Teer Beetle

This is a natural predator of the Soltana Worm and Warbsa Beetle, sharing their equatorial habitat. Their striking appearance, in part a warning to larger predators of their bodies containing a toxin and their elaborate above and below-water hunting methods have long been a source of fascination.

With the far larger Soltana Worm, an individual beetle swims up to them and promptly cuts them in half in the middle. They then proceed to either end, immobilize the worm’s defensive spike, and quickly consume that end before going after the other.

The Teer Beetle encircles a single Charsha stock infested with the smaller Warbsa Beetles and surges up from below the water, driving the beetles up to the top before they can fly off, causing them to instead fall into the water, where they are attacked and consumed by the more significant underwater force.

Due to these remarkable feats of co-operative hunting, they were studied and cultivated in ancient times, coming to be well regarded for their ability to clear fields of either or both pests. Unlike their primary prey, Teer Beetles were quite amenable to modifications within Tatchlan, accelerating all their powers and abilities as predators.

Despite these unique formations, this beetle does not live in what could be constituted an insect society. There is no nest or other collective residence and no set of classes serving a broader community. Apart from mating, individuals come together for joint ventures and then separate into completely autonomous entities that function in isolation from others until a new feeding opportunity arises.

These tiny creatures' role in protecting Charsha crops led to their becoming a famous emblem within the Menem religion and other movements in ancient times. They often appeared as important symbols of life and protection in art and literature. The Tatchlan Masters came to use their distinctive form as a symbol for the perfection of all insects and their underlying order to all aspects of the Living System. This, in turn, led to the ancient icon depicted here, which was used throughout the Primary and Secondary Epochs.

Karthala

These colonies are not true insects but resemble them in so many respects; they are commonly classified as such. Due to their underground existence, they are found everywhere in Anu, except in desert regions. They are also named ‘Exploding Trees’ because of their spectacular activity. A colony can number in the hundreds or even thousands of Karth (single colony members). They live their lives beneath the Skin of Anu. A founding queen will, after mating, fly to a new location and grow her brood. The new colony may inhabit an area without sign or incident for decades, peacefully feeding on rotting plant matter beneath the surface. After fifteen to twenty years, the colony undergoes a profound change. They suddenly become quite active and migrate from their birthplace. Their bodies undergo a metamorphosis into a semi-liquid form that flows together with the rest underground. They travel within the water table, searching for a particular set of roots.

When they find a group of ancient trees, the colony undergoes another change, forming an above-ground nest that can be described as a parody of the trees around it with a few distorted arms extending out from the ‘trunk.’ This becomes the colony’s base of operations as they spread out in all directions, looking for other dying root systems.

The hides are so callous as to be near impossible to breach. Inside, the Karth reform into tiny rigid bodies far harder than in their earlier stages.

These creatures now move out into the surrounding territory and the roots of the ancient trees. They eat the tree from the inside out. The colony may possess one tree or many at a time, but when they have sufficiently undermined their host, they can vacate it just before the hollowed-out trunk quivers as it collapses. Those present say the muted sound resembles rocks rolling and falling inside a barrel as they race down the sides and back into the ground before the tree ‘explodes.’ Those learned in forest and jungle ways say their predations led to openings within the treed area, allowing for renewal. Often, they can clear a circle up to an anda wide around their colony tree.

While they begin as vegetarians, after such feedings, they also appear able to possess large animal carcasses and hollow them out similarly. They give off a pungent odour that can drive Thyma and even Kumastam away and thus steal their prey. They leave off only if the predators can swiftly move the carcass away from their underground entrance. Once this dramatic phase ends, usually in a year or two, before much of the colony dies, a few new queens fly off to create a new twenty-year life cycle.

They have always been cast in a negative light in folklore. In the Primary Epoch, the Menem literature depicted them as either an agent of or a manifestation of Kovlah killing and dragging victims into the ‘foul orb of Anu.’ With the founding of the Tolku Cluster-of-Clusters Nation and the commencement of the Primary Epoch, the Viracocha District Flora Ministry of Thermistal made what had been a nuisance elsewhere into a priority for the protection of Western Thermistal’s vast forest estates. By employing specialized Operants and Invocates within Tatchlan, they gradually modified these creatures to gain sufficient handles on them to direct their drives by increments in new directions. This eventually led to an elaborate set of protocols to monitor their life cycle and control them to where they could benefit from areas needing to be cleared or where they would do the least harm.

The new Yakku Viracocha Authority in Western Thermistal inherited this craft from the ancient Viracocha District Flora Ministry in the Secondary Epoch. Over generations, they continued to develop ingenious ways to harness their twenty-year cycles to occur at opportune times and locations to clear undesired tracts of land. They discovered the Karthala have immunity to many diseases affecting forest growth and even used them to stop otherwise dangerous spreads of blights and other maladies among valued trees. The emblem displayed above depicts an exploding tree from the Yakku tradition.

The Field Yelda of Rho-Jashun and later Danam Yelda of Statos-Vey benefitted from the Yakku lore in their management. In this way, they protected their orchards and other treed areas while helping the colony clear swaths of land in wilderness areas. The Karthala are more prevalent on Thermistal and Rho-Jashun than Statos-Vey. While welcoming feeding the dead to a patch of Hungry Rock or a Bowvow Tree, most Yelda are averse to the occasional Yakku practice of allowing Karthala to possess and hollow out their dead.

When a Karthala Tree is suddenly discovered within a cultivated area, it is expected to uproot and swiftly take it to a patch of Hungry Rock.

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Venerable Insect Societies

These communities shared many qualities that the ancients found admirable and ensured they became part of all Cluster-of-Clusters societies. One involved those struck by a contagion leaving their circle and cluster to die away from the rest, hoping the illness did not attack the larger community.

Note, for Insect Societies significantly modified within Tatchlan, see the Living Instruments section.

Vikavan

These are insects with shiny, dark-patterned green shells living in large colonies in certain old trees. They feed on the sap and distill many juices found nowhere else. These juices are harvested and are used in medicines and other applications. Their distinctive juices occupy a unique place in various medicinal and other uses. They have earned the name ‘Elder’s Aid’ for their juices assisting the aged with consolidating their resilience and mitigating the discomforts of age.

While they live together in large numbers, their social organization is elementary compared to other insect societies. There is no queen, and all females are fertile. What earns them a place in this category is their singular presence within Tatchlan. There, they are among the few beings that manifest as a fully articulate body to the eyes of Invocates and Operants encountering them. This Primary Epoch Icon is meant to depict this manifestation within the Living System instead of a single insect.

Another distinction they have on the Skin of Anu is they are seen as having ‘many bodies and one mind,’ moving in either unison or perfectly choreographed arrangements.

Gandahatapan - the ‘Perfection of the Air’

Known as the ‘Perfection of the Air,’ the Gandahatapan is a flying insect colony moving through the tropical jungles. They form their masses out of hundreds of thousands of bodies. They are known for their ability to fly as a single body or spread out in long columns over great distances on beautifully long and iridescent wings. At rest, they form their collective city composed of their bodies hanging from branches and any other amenable anchor. Despite having several classes with variations in colouring, their bodies are identical in size and proportions. The Drones are purple and red but are indistinguishable from the other ranks of workers. Their Queen is much larger and can live for thirty or more years. She holds them together with her powerful scent. When she becomes old, sickens, or suddenly dies, the scent change causes several eggs to hatch with the new queen. They fight until there is one survivor who becomes the new queen. On rare occasions, two or more queens persist, and the colony is divided into an equal number following each. They undergo a ‘scent separation’ and go their separate ways.

The Gandahatapan have few enemies. While plagued with several infinitesimal infestations, few other creatures dare to disturb them. It must be noted here that they harbour a most curious animosity towards the Sirintya, a creature utterly unlike themselves who in no way impinges on their food sources. This society was studied in most-ancient times and used as a model by the Primary Masters in developing Tatchlan. The Tolku, the Foremost Ones, identified with this perfect society and, throughout their civilization, emulated them. The ‘Field Yelda’ would return to this emulation and once again make these beings and their airborne nation their Perfection Symbol, living as they do on the vast open plains of Marachla on central and southern Rho-Jashun. After establishing the Danam Yelda on Statos-Vey, they would adopt a very different insect colony and Koru image of Perfection, the Ketukku (see immediately below). These winged beings are one of two Images of Perfection for the Yakku, along with the Mahakram. The Yakku have oral traditions describing them as ‘sweeping the air clean.’

This image is of most-ancient design, depicting a colony at rest on a tree branch with a dynamic picture of their Queen superimposed over them. She is described as far more substantial to her children than in life. Also, when the colony is at rest, the Queen will be found at the heart of their living city, not on the surface of it.

Ketukku - the ‘Tower Builders’

Known as the ‘Tower Builders’ and ‘The Rooted Ones,’ they are an insect colony fashioning tall towers of near-stone hardness out of ingested wood and soil combined with the powerful glues they secrete. Their structures are mainly below ground, reaching down to a water source, which they use to humidify their city. Ketukku are found in many climes but are most common in dry regions, where their colonies may number in the millions.

They are nocturnal creatures, emerging at night to gather materials to nourish the many unique forms of yeast and fungi they raise. Their Queen may live over fifty years and constantly sets aside a few eggs as future queens. When they hatch, she eats them. When she dies, the first royal to hatch immediately eats the others and becomes queen. Some Ketukku towers have been recorded as over five hundred years old.

In pre-Tatchlan times, these colonies were subject to what is known as ‘Mound Worship,’ where the colony was seen as a symbol of life and fertility. Circumambulation ceremonies took place around larger colonies, and food offerings were made to them regularly. Even in the very early stages of Nu’s Blossom Cycle, when it was initially benevolent, these Mounds were known to emit high-pitched notes, leading to the notion of ‘Mound Song’ as an early sign of an impending Blossom.

This Koru image shows a symbolic Ket ukku M ountain with the Queen at its heart. Her mountain is presented as if it were composed of Life Pillars, the unmistakable appearance of life and vitality. The Koru identified with the Ketukku and used their forms as symbols for the perfection of their nocturnal, underground society. The Ketukku’s aroma, savoured by the Koru, is described as a unique warm blend of turned loam, wood essence and distinctive life juices. The Koru holds a special place for the Ketukku, whom they name ‘The Rooted Ones,’ “for their steadfastness, industry and unwavering dedication to each other.” These colonies are the Koru’s Perfection Symbol.

Ketukku peaceable relations
Another distinguishing feature is the Ketukku colony’s response to discovering another colony within its territory. When a new Queen flies away to establish her kingdom, there is evidence she selects her domain with great care. In part, she seeks out a territory where no other Ketukku are present. An elaborate process begins if her subjects later discover those from another colony after founding her new realm. It appears Ketukku Scouts from each colony meet briefly at the halfway point, and observers agree a swift exchange of aromas tells each other much. Generational studies agree that the age and extent of colonies are deciding factors. In all such cases, the smaller and newer colony immediately vacates their premises. In popular Tolku culture, this inspired the value of ‘Elder First, younger last,’ which remains embedded in modern Cluster-of-Clusters Nations. Spies and scouts from the younger colony begin to fan out in all directions, away from the Elder Colony. This process may take one or more two-weeks to determine. Once a site is selected, the Soldiers line an exact route, and the various classes march in file with the Soldiers standing facing outward, waving their great mandibles to ward off any attack. Near the end, the Farmers emerge, carrying far more of their fungi and other crops in their mouths than seems possible. Finally, the Queen exits, and all Soldiers form a wide perimeter around her as they march to her new kingdom. Among many reasons for the Koru’s adoration of the Ketukku is this extended effort to avoid conflict with their own kind. The Ketukku are quite able to defend themselves from all other threats.

Queen - Drone - Nurse - Soldier - Builder - Scout - Spy - Farmer

These are Primary Epoch Icons for the eight classes of the Ketukku Nation: Queens, Drones, Nurses, Soldiers, Builders, Scouts, Spies and Farmers. They are not to scale with each other. The first, the Ketukku Queen, may extend from the index finger to the heel of an adult Koru hand, making her one of the most significant insect queens on Anu. It would take four of her orange Drones lined up to equal her length. Nurses are much smaller, and six Nurses would need to stand in a line to equal the size of one Drone. Soldiers and Drones are of nearly equal length, with the Soldier being slightly longer. Builders are the same length as Soldiers but significantly wider. Scouts are the same size as Nurses. Spies are by far the smallest; it takes four spies, with their elongated antennae, to equal the length of one Scout. Along with their extended antenna, Spies are the only members of the Ketukku Nation to have permanent wings (Queens and Drones discard them after establishing a new colony).

These can fold away entirely on their tiny bodies to be extended for short flights on their power or gliding for more prolonged periods when the wind favours them. They are called ‘Sev,’ meaning ‘messengers.’ This is an apparent reference to the most-ancient Menem Religion. The Farmers (far more robust and the same size as the Nurses) tend to the variety of unique suites of fungi and yeasts found only within their damp interiors that form the foundation of the colony’s diet. One type of fungi finds its way out onto the surface of their tower, lending their mountain its bright green colour. It can live there due to the unique chemistry of the mound and will die if separated from it.

Mahakram

This is a distinctive form of insect predator. They can be found throughout the equatorial through temperate zones, creating large gossamer nets covering entire trees. The bodies of these beings are tiny and bright yellow, and they possess the most powerful of venoms. Their colony numbers in the many hundreds of thousands. They position themselves all over the netting and converge on it from all sides when an insect, small animal, or bird is caught.

They have been known to subdue poisonous serpents and young Krall. After intense storms, they have been observed reweaving their nets in less than a day. Known as the ‘Yellow Cloud,’ they have many Queens living at the colony's heart. The web’s internal structure determines the territory governed by each Queen. There are no recorded observations of any discord within these Yellow Clouds. Their netting does not impede the host tree; thus, protected from pests, it can prosper beyond all others. The Yakku value the Mahakram above other insect colonies and emulated their perfection.

The Yakku, and later the Field Yelda and finally Rural Yelda, by separate means, ensured that pollination of shrouded fruit trees still takes place in different ways, ‘folding back’ segments of Mahakram netting for short periods to allow pollinating insects to perform their duties undisturbed at the blossoms. Of necessity, this could only be done at optimal times, and attempts are made to keep the pollinators away until their window opens to not discourage them from the aromas of their dead already in the Mahakram’s webs. Regardless of the method and tools, this delicate procedure had to be undertaken before dawn on what promised to be a warm and unclouded day when the buds were closed to minimize damage from pulling the webbing away.

The Foremost Ones had improved this creature for use within their orchards. With the advent of Fecund Mahakram, an even more perfected being was brought about by a Yeldic Majastas within the Tatchlan System. The Fecund Mahakram made many elaborate ‘folding’ measures no longer necessary.

The original Tolku Icon for the Mahakram depicts four queens facing inward to nurture a cluster of eggs. Sixteen adults surround them facing outward, symbolizing their protection, the maintenance of their web home, and their vigilance for any tremors in their netting. They rest within a swirling curtain of many web layers, representing the heart of their nation.

Wars between Gandahatapan and Mahakram 

From Pre-Tatchlan times, there has been a grave prohibition against allowing a roving Gandahatapan colony from coming into contact with a stationary Mahakram one. The resulting war has always been regarded as ruinous, running from notions of representing an evil omen through observations that, as a result, both species avoid the territory for up to a century after the event. If a single Gandahatapan is caught in its web, its fate is the same as that of any other small creature. The scent it gives off at death and the ambience of the Mahakram themselves typically serve as a warning, and colony members avoid this location. It would be a different affair if the Gandahatapan Queen deemed it fit to attack the colony en masse.

While the Mahakram initially appears to have the advantage of ensnaring the invaders, the Gandahatapan are stronger and usually destroy the nest. It is said the spectacle is alarming and the whine of the Gandahatapan in battle sickening, leading to all other creatures fleeing the vicinity. A combination of Gandahatapan venom and Mahakram juices saturate and surround the tree. When the host tree is fruit-bearing, the fruit is poisoned, and the tree dies. To minimize the likelihood that Mahakram colonies will avoid the region due to the lingering odours of the war, clusters usually burn the tree and even dig up the ground around the stump to remove all traces of the war’s aroma signature. Clusters playing host to Gandahatapan and Mahakram colonies maintain a vigil to minimize contact between them.

During the First Suvuka Onslaught, many Gandahatapan and Mahakram wars were witnessed, presaging Suvuka attacks on the Tolku.

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Air Creatures

Xumkuka (Beloved Xumkuka - Koru) (Royal Xumkuka - Yelda)

This is an immense serpent able to live in the high currents. Their bodies, along with being extremely long, are thin to the point of flatness on their sides. They are near transparent and generate light at their head and along their flat sides. They move by graceful undulations back and forth, forming a long series of alternating curves.

If the air is still, these movements are accompanied by a sighing and tinkling sound that can sometimes be heard below. Their lights create a distinct spectacle as they swim through the upper air at dawn and dusk, although they can persist under Nu’s Eye later into the day and earlier in the evening. Their lights attract the vast multitudes of tiny beings they feed on, including the ubiquitous Blood Midges in the south. They capture them in thousands of cup-like protrusions along their sides where each light is nestled. As such, the Xumkuka has more mouths than any other creature.

Xumkuka and the Chelyaka

Due to their gentle nature, beautiful, graceful appearance, and beneficial pest consumption, they have always had a favoured place in the folklore of both the Primary and Secondary Epoch. The Chelyaka venerated them as messengers, able to traverse the inner sphere of their inverted vision of Anu.

The earliest depictions of Xumkuka are found in a cave named Kavan-Kyan on the shores of the Angakut Channel on southern Rho-Jashun, where most surviving art celebrating Chelyaka remains. For reasons lost to time, they occasionally appear within these caves in heraldic form with a head at either end.

Xumkuka and the Menem

They also found their way into the iconography of the followers of the Menem religion, showing three of the four Generals of the Air, Vindaviran, Samajalas, and Yuyutar, each having their mount, often adorned with their colours. Only Tarunachit, the ‘Devastator,’ is shown on a Kumastam. Despite the time's violence and chaos, the appellation ‘Beloved Xumkuka’ dates from this period.

Xumkuka and the Danam Yelda

Unique nests are built atop Danam Yeldic clusters, which make distinct sounds to attract them. When one chooses to settle at these, they wrap their large bodies around the configuration, as they would in the trees they usually inhabit and secrete a coating that hardens into a protective shell for the creature. This protection is for the elements, as they have no natural predators. Despite their extent, they weigh less than a creature half their size. After death, they are seen to have hollow bones and generate a gas that lightens them.

In the Secondary Epoch, they have become associated with Yeldic Majastas. This is due to the creature’s novel attraction to them. Some maintain their territory around the Majastas’s current location and move when the Majastas do, leading to a new name, ‘Royal Xumkuka.’

Xumkuka and Yakku

The Yakku have a special affection for this creature, similar to the one they bear for the Gandahatapan, based on their unique regard for the clarity of the air. They are observed to gently glide through small flying insect swarms or particulate matter, leaving the pristine air in their wake. As such, they are seen as ‘air purifiers.’ In this setting, they have become symbols of vitality and are prominent symbols of their healing institutions.

Kumastam

This creature is second only to the Xumkuka in size and is far more substantial than all other flying serpents. In many ways, they are the opposite of Xumkuka. They are active throughout the day, their bodies are nearly flat on the bottom and top, and they are fierce predators of birds and beasts. Of all the hunters of the air, the Kumastam is queen. They have a series of rigid flaps serving well as wings, although they primarily use their flat bodies to ride the air currents. Due to their segments' shape and joining, they are swift, agile, and flexible in the air.

They hunt in small groups and have been seen swooping down on prey as large as young Danta separated from the herd. Sailors have reported their snatching infant Tumatch out of the ocean. These feats are rare as they never touch the ground or water's surface. Should they bring down land prey, they swoop to bite off the flesh and immediately return to the air to consume it. It is not unusual for them to contest with Thyma over carcasses and occasionally strafe them to pursue common prey. They possess powerful outer jaws and a crushing inner beak. They are also endowed with a deadly sting at the tip of their tails, making them undisputed rulers of the air.

Despite being far more extensive and slower, Xumkuka is known to be unpalatable to Kumastam. Given their formidable abilities, one might be forgiven for assuming these fearsome creatures never suffer any form of assault. Yet, a most unlikely altercation takes place once a century on average. Without warning, the tiny and usually solitary and nocturnal Sirintya rises in large numbers and attacks the head and eyes of one of these majestic hunters. Their potent venom, on occasion, stuns them to the ground, but then the Sirintya leaves off and, unless mortally wounded in the fall, the Kumastam launches itself back into the air. This mystifying spectacle appears to be an elaborate strategy to lure out an abundance of prey animals wishing to exult over the apparent defeat of their hunter, only to be snatched up by the Sirintya positioning themselves around the fallen Kumastam.

It was also believed the Kumastam never slept, although it is now understood they take multiple rest periods when they glide on high thermals. As may be presumed, these fearsome beasts were prominent in tales and myths in most ancient times, where they acquired the title ‘death from above.’ Many now nameless traditions appear to have associated the Kumastam with Nu, and fragments of epics detail how they originated within his Disk. Several surviving dramas feature incidents of a protagonist being pursued out in the open by Kumastam from above and Thyma flanking them on the ground. The Chelyakans singled them out as the primary reason the devout could not span the void between their side and the opposite wall of what they believed to be an inner sphere.

On the other hand, the Menem saw them as the loyal mount of Tarunachit, the most ferocious of the Menem Generals of the Air. The most-ancient Water Viewers and Practicians had no interest in their symbolism. They saw the occasional deaths from the Kumastam and determined, as had others, that the Tolku were immune to their predation when they travelled in small groups. It has been suggested this simple observation contributed, along with many other deeper considerations, to the formulation of the Circle of Eight.

The early Tatchlan Masters located these fearsome beings within the Living System and implanted inhibitions so they no longer viewed the Tolku as a desirable food source. This Primary Epoch icon reflects that Tatchlan now improves them and represents only the first quarter of their body length. The side flaps of their mid-body extend far beyond what is depicted here.

Tapu

This is one of the smallest members of the flying serpent family. An adult rarely exceeds an arm’s length. Their main claim to fame as a night feeder is their incredible brightness, equivalent to four or more Queldeday. Their brightness attracts food and others who feed on the tiny beings of the air. They tend to move in herds of fifty to one hundred or more. They are capable of great bursts of speed for short periods when startled. Their ability to rapidly advance in many directions while remaining in formation is much admired.

Doreth

This large domesticated flying creature is unique among avians. Presently, it can hold one or more adult Yelda in flight. The Yelda primarily uses them as adult Koru and Yakku, which are much larger and heavier. They are also trained to fly unattended from designated locations with burdens and messages. A Koru saying goes, ‘Doreth are for the young and the Yelda.’

The Doreth are a very early fashioning. Work began during the first centuries of the Tolku’s Cluster-of-Clusters Nation in the Primary Epoch. They are a rare example of a bird/animal hybrid. Three distinct species were drawn together within Tatchlan to allow generations of interbreeding, followed by successive crops of increasingly distinctive progeny, leading to this elegant representative of what is known as the ‘Chimera Class’ of Tatchlan beings. They were intended to augment air travel. The Naswoll, an unimproved creature, had always been used to carry the young and dispatch messages but was limited by the terrain it could skim over. An adult Doreth is far more substantial, robust and unconstrained by the nature of the landscape below it.

It was designed to hold one or two adult Tolku, and there are accounts of it carrying four for short distances. They were ubiquitous throughout the Tolku Cluster-of-Clusters Nation on all three continents throughout the Primary Epoch.

They proved vital and hardy and developed a powerful presence within the Living System. Their one drawback was they could not transport an entire Circle of Eight on their backs, leading to various formations travelling together and even some of most-ancient depictions of several pulling fanciful gondolas through the air behind them.

With the Killing Swath and the demise of the Tolku, the Doreth, also full creatures of Tatchlan, died out in large numbers. Yet, they were among the few of the specialized and elaborate workings on the Skin of Anu not to go entirely extinct, making them part of the treasured ‘Recovered Ones’ of the emerging Koru. Due to the changes in size and weight, the emerging Koru underwent within the Sanctuaries, they could no longer ride them. At the same time, the first generations of Koru grew a new disposition, turning them down to beneath the Flesh of Anu. This made the notion of flying in the air increasingly repugnant. This presented the Koru with something of a dilemma. As Recovered Ones, they could not relinquish this glorious example of a Chimera from very early in the Primary Epoch. They felt honour bound to continue them and employ them as they could. This leads to the Koru augmenting the Doreth’s underground communications and other small tasks, such as becoming couriers, but these creatures mostly languished without purpose.

The Yakku of Thermistal also faced the same dilemma. They, too, increased in size beyond the tolerance of an adult Doreth to carry. Of course, they had no issue being up in the air; thus, the Doreth was extensively used by the young for communications. Despite this, they also were far less prominent within the Yakku’s Viracocha Collective than they had been. Their issue was also with these creatures being an evident product of Tatchlan, which increasingly reduced their employment in many of the Regional Trees.

Doreth and Yelda 

With the advent of the Yelda, particularly the establishment of the Danam Yelda's Cluster-of-Clusters Nation on Statos-Vey, the Doreth are said to have returned to their former use in full. The Yelda are nearly identical in height and girth to the most-ancient Tolku and embraced the opportunity to ride this rare remnant of the Primary Epoch. They are now found in thousands in each province and fill the skies with passengers, messages and modest packages over each provincial centre throughout the day.

Gelion Thrush

This little bird lives in the temperate zones. Chiefly noted because of its call at Nu’s setting, its song announces, “Nu is gone! Nu is gone!” It is one of the first singers to stir at dusk, so its theme is first attended to. The Gelion Thrush continues the same refrain through the night, but most other birds have more vital voices, so they are seldom heard again.

Skayo

These tiny creatures were originally native to the equatorial jungles of Statos-Vey. When they entered mountain caves, the early Koru discovered they could absorb considerable quantities of moisture in the air. They are extensively used within Koru Living Mountains, the Danam Yelda's Eight Ministry Campuses and other facilities to assist in keeping libraries and other rooms dry. They make a distinctive ‘ticking’ sound while active. When large groups are assembled, this combines to produce the ‘rushing’ sound associated with ‘Raw Mountain’ and Living Mountain life among the Koru.

The Skayo has elaborate body parts forming an extended, trailing profile. They mostly hang by adhesive tongues to the underside of their feeding grounds. Extending off these elongated tongues are a series of polyps forming porous receptacles that draw in moisture and nutrients from the air.

The creature dangles and sways from the end of its tongue and has a set of appendages with stinging tentacles for protection hanging below it.

To domesticate them, the Koru modified their poison within Tatchlan to transmute their venom into a mild stimulant. Thus, as they sway on the ceilings of their underground compounds, the occasional sting only produces a temporary euphoria. Despite this precaution, the Koru learned to separate the Skayo from all their other hanging treasure life forms, forming various barriers to keep them in their designated areas. This singular example of Koru Genius is of the Modified Rank among their Recovered Ones companion species.

To facilitate their dehumidifying qualities, the Koru have scored the ceilings of their chambers to encourage the Skayo to travel particular routes in circuits to maximize their drying abilities. They also managed to modify them sufficiently to deposit their waste in tiny crystals in specially designed receptacles accompanying the tracks. These are sufficiently hard to be gathered for use in cutting tools.

Sirintya

This is a unique airborne animal which, despite its diminutive stature, displays many noteworthy features. These include possessing one of the most potent toxins (only the Toohund’s is more deadly). When in flight, its body becomes almost invisible at night and on overcast days. When the Eye of Nu is out, the creature’s shimmering blue/green skin and multiple light-emitting cups (called ‘chalices’) on the underside are visible. Like its distant relations, the Thethelem and Skayo, this is also a broad and near-flat creature of little weight that can swiftly propel itself through the air. The adult has the wingspan of a Koru’s open hand. This small creature is a formidable nighttime predator with its digestive juices in its ‘chalices’ on its underside. They catch prey by attaching themselves by one wing to a branch, causing their chalices to produce a powerful glow. When insects or other small game draw near the bottom half, the creature swings upward to grip the branch, trapping their meal.

A stinger darts out of each chalice immediately, piercing the prey’s body, then corroding juices filling the wounds. The body is liquified quickly and pushed towards its large mouth at the centre. The Sirintya’s eyes are on the other side, so this operation is conducted entirely by vibrations around its chalices. Once having fed, the creature turns quite dark and forms a hard bulb on top of the branch, where they remain dormant until they are transparent again.

Due to the slight residue of their juices remaining in the air, many creatures are wary of their traps. On overcast and windless days, they are at their most deadly when they are near invisible and still. Being so small, they seldom trouble Yakku or Yelda. They have been known to take a venomous swipe at either should they accidentally venture too close to their perches. These encounters on infrequent occasions have proven life-threatening to the very young or the aged. Upon death, they turn a dark green and are easily found. Even then, their skin may exude venom and are best left untouched until they dry out.

Sirintya and Gandahatapan

Many eyewitness accounts, fortified by numerous studies, have added peculiar aspects to this little creature’s life. Despite being primarily nocturnal, Sirintya possesses a deep animosity for the diurnal Gandahatapan. The insect colony seems to grow animated if one or more Sirintya are discovered within their territory. In both cases, these encounters may be lethal. A single insect stands no chance if it flies too close to the creature. If two to four members of a Gandahatapan colony discover a Sirintya hanging from a branch and attack, it may go either way. If they are not careful, the Sirintya will trap and consume them. If not, it may wrap itself around the branch and present a tough hide to repel most of its stingers. This defence is only temporary, and should more arrive from the colony, the Sirintya may try to escape and outfly them. Should a large company from the Gandahatapan colony choose to attack, the Sirintya may not survive.

On rare occasions, Ru ral Cl usters, trying to protect one or more Mahakram trees from a visiting Gandahatapan colony, have tried to set hanging traps of lines of Sirintya between the two insect societies. Gandahatapan have been known to take it upon themselves to destroy Mahakram nests, and all know of the hatred the Sirintya and Gandahatapan bear each other. At best, this is a temporary measure, which may only be sufficient if the Gandahatapan is focused on something different than the Mahakram. If they are, nothing can stop them from attacking the tree.

Sirintya and Kumastam
Far more bizarre are tales of large numbers of Sirintya attacking a Kumastam. As this was an infrequent event not witnessed by anyone alive, the Treasury collection accounts discovered during The Interim were dismissed as fables or allegories. The unbelievable truth of these ancient declarations was revealed only with fresh incidents witnessed by many early in the Secondary Epoch.

Much of what takes place and why remains a mystery. Sirintya is usually solitary, except during their mating season. Yet, these outlandish events appear to have nothing to do with this and seem to arise without provocation. There is no discernible time pattern, with witnessed and recorded attacks separated by decades or several centuries and in varied locations and climatic conditions.

What little is agreed on is these shocking incidents usually take place in the tropics and involve what appears to be a multitude of separate Sirintya suddenly rising in a cloud to envelop the head of a Kumastam flying overhead. The creature either successfully shakes them off or is stung repeatedly. It still may free itself, but the longer the tiny attackers remain on its head, and in particular its eyes, the more poison is injected. Ultimately, the monster is brought down by a multitude of what are to it infinitesimals. Seldom is the Kumastam killed, and most, after a short period of being stunned, rouse themselves and take to the air. This singular spectacle draws the attention of any self-aware being present and various other creatures. The strangest portion of this tableau now begins. All the small birds and other animals hiding from the Kumastam begin to emerge and do a series of triumphal swoops over their fallen enemy. During this display, the Sirintya responsible for bringing it down positions themselves in the surrounding trees and catch many of these prey animals unawares. It is now agreed this is the initial attack's intent, making it one of the most extraordinary and elaborate examples of co-ordination and entrapment.

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Water Creatures

Wum

This giant sea creature has a soft living body composed of three segments. The upper portion, named the ‘cap,’ is at the surface under its famed shell. The middle part, the ‘fan,’ comprises much of its body, surrounded by long fibrous tendrils studded with brilliantly bioluminescent stinging nodes trapping a wide variety of small life. The lower portion, named the ‘legs,’ consists of long, powerful tendrils propelling the creature forward over the sea floor. Night mariners can see the Wum’s glowing presence in the waters, as they usually travel in pods over long distances.

Over the Wum’s living Cap, it grows a broad, thick shell, which floats at the surface with the rest of the creature underneath. The bodies of some mature Wum can grow to immense proportions; ancient records describe one having a shell half an anda wide. As such, they are called ‘floating islands.’ During storms, the Wum can lose their surface buoyancy, sink to the bottom and return when the seas are calm.

Young are spawned in warm shallow waters and are said to ‘live in their cluster’s skirts,’ meaning they take shelter within the glowing tendrils of the adults. They travel up and down the adult bodies, feeding and growing. After two to three years, they float to the surface with their first shell. They continue with the adult colony for a time before separating and forming their juvenile group. They stay close to shore until they mature and then enter deeper waters.

The Wum travel in pods of between four and twenty and have established migratory routes along shorelines and across portions of the Panchala Sea, which is the warmest and shallowest of Anu’s oceans, as well as over underwater mountain chains across the southern parts of the Wakanda Ocean. While they can tolerate cold waters and may stray beyond their normal ranges, they are seldom found in the deep ocean. Despite being the same depth and having similar flora, the Wum seldom ventures into the Vettencore Passage of Thermistal. There are many theories as to why they tend to avoid this waterway. They rarely linger long in fresh water and move away from shore where large rivers empty.

Wum and Suvuka

During the Primary Epoch, the Suvuka found a way to use the Wum to cross from Thermistal to Rho-Jashun for their first Onslaught. It is further speculated they managed to employ them again to cross over during their Second Onslaught after the Killing Swath. Commentators pointed to their ability to bear shipping weight as evidence they could have born herds of Suvuka. These theories remained controversial until the discovery of a chamber, part of the Tolku’s Inner City beneath Upata-Shepsus, proving this was done on at least one occasion. This site is mentioned in the third novel of this series, Dalinantu Emergence. Much smaller creatures regularly ride on the Wum over short distances to reach islands and other lands without ever swimming in the ocean. Certain species of fish and other sea creatures also attach themselves to the lip of the shell and travel with the beast. Krall and other sea birds also nest on the body's surface. After death, their empty shells may wash intact onto the shore, and these have long been used as primitive land shelters and, on occasion, simple sea vessels. Their dried shells, whole or broken, are prized for their strength and beauty. They are worked into many shapes and are often incorporated into buildings. Polished and treated sections are used as ornamentation.

Wum and Kudurapala (Koru Yelda)

Kudurapala, the Koru servants of the Mahamdul Naval Empire, have perfected the ability to take advantage of these predictable migrations to place loads of freight and crew on these creatures. The weight limits are well known, and they suffer no ill effects and continue their routes, allowing for the ease of transporting goods over great distances. Shipping stays close to offload their cargo in bad weather if it appears the creature prepares to sink to avoid a storm. Specific tubular organs within the Wum’s midsection ‘fan’ may be harvested and filled with Sheshenara and produce a new form of the liquid to nurture the Kudurapala’s unique Healing Vats, also known as Salt Vats. This process, along with occasional feedings of other portions of the Wum, produces a unique version of the Kudurapala’s Salt Balls known as Wum Orbs (see immediately below), which, due to their medical and culinary attributes are more than twice the value of regular Salt Balls.

Wum Orb

This is a treasured version of the salt ball, composed of salt exuded by vats on Kudurapala or Koru Yelda ships. It is named an ‘orb’ because, unlike the standard salt ball, the Wum version is dark and streaked with various patterns, like the four moons. These orbs may be stored for decades without any loss of quality. The different colours come from other aspects of the original Wum’s chemistry. Some, especially Yellow Salt, have significant medicinal applications, while blue is a key ingredient in many specialty dishes. While infused with the juices of the Wum, this is the only time any part of the creature can be safely consumed. Kudurapala can ‘read’ the shell pattern of a Wum to determine what percentage of a given quality might be found by submitting them to the process to produce several orbs. Those with significant yellow patterning are set aside for pre-vats as they assist in developing their ability before being wakened as Ripe Vats.

Tumatch

The Tolku Masters modified this large aquatic creature to serve as a living ship. The improvement of these immense water beasts predates Tatchlan. Early in the Primary Epoch, they were perfected to be impressive water bearers. Being air breathers, they could always move in fresh and salt water, but given their use, they were modified to spend more time in large freshwater lakes and rivers. This is because they can stay at the surface for long periods and thus can bear large numbers of riders and quite heavy freight. Despite their mass and ability to move smoothly through choppy waters, many incidents proved it was best to limit most of their carrying uses to smaller bodies of water.

Many river channels and lake beds were designed for the passage of many Tumatch. The Ashailna River of Statos-Vey is one of the best surviving preserved waterways designed partly with the Tumatch in mind. It is, in essence, a vast canal. A far more significant waterway also modified for their use was the Vettencore Passage.

During the Primary Epoch, the Tumatch became the main means of patrolling the vast barrier keeping the raw Suvuka enclosed on the eastern edge of Thermistal. They are powerful swimmers and may outpace most non-living craft when properly securing riders and structures. With non-living cargo, they may travel great distances at speed.

As with much else, the Killing Swath drastically affected their health and numbers. They were revived by the early Koru and were employed by them in a limited fashion early in The Interim. Being day dwellers, the Tumatch became less used as the Koru swiftly changed into a nocturnal society. As mentioned with the Doreth above, the Yelda reclaimed the Tumatch and used them extensively on Statos-Vey within their Danam Yelda Cluster-of-Clusters Nation. To a lesser extent, they were also found on Thermistal, primarily on the Grand Lake Teval and its many tributaries.

The high-pitched roofs depicted in this icon hint at its antiquity. It is likely this Primary Epoch depiction was based on those from pre-Tatchlan times, as the ceilings are characteristic of the most-ancient Rho-Jashun capital of Thithanu, the vast capital of the Tolku that the Suvuka erased during their First Onslaught. Maintaining them is considered a respectful tribute to this ancient accomplishment before Tatchlan gave a face to raw life.

Varox

An elegant water bird native to the South. While capable of short flights, it generally lives a sedentary life along routes it establishes on freshwater lakes and rivers. It is known and loved for its decorous appearance and melodic call. They carry their eggs and hatched chicks on their backs during their infancy. Despite being inedible, they serve Rural Clusters, especially those entrusted with Fishery Craft schools.

During the Primary Epoch, large metal and glass statues, known as the Majastas Varox, were made to sit on either side of the Imperial Way just beyond sight of the Primary Mountain Circle, forming a compelling symbol to those approaching that they had arrived in the capital region.

The monuments were recast in the Secondary Epoch and set up before the arrival of the Danam Yelda at the end of the Ceremonial Walk from Dalinantu. The reader may witness this event in the third novel of this series, ‘Dalinantu Emergence.’ They became important symbols of the Yeldic Majastas Nation. The bird’s characteristic long neck and head are recreated on the prows of official ships of state for the Statos-Vey Cluster-of-Clusters Nation.

Sheret

This crustacean is found along the coast of northern Statos-Vey and the southernmost tip of Rho-Jashun and Thermistal, particularly the verdant Mushumafal Peninsula. On rare occasions, it has been located on other sea coasts. It spends half of each year on land and half in the ocean. This creature is known for its resilience. While born in the sea, it may travel across open ground. While raised in saltwater, it may occupy brackish and freshwater rivers and lakes. While composed of savoury meat for many dishes, its main point of interest is that it possesses the most robust and flexible shell of any living thing on Anu. From prehistoric times, these qualities have made this shell a vital tool. There is evidence Cousins taught the early Tolku in the shell's primary tool use, which they then expanded into ancient industries. When worked, it could produce a sharp edge used for cutting. A ‘Sheret Net’ could serve as nearly impenetrable body armour when layered. Beyond war, it had a wide range of agricultural and building applications, making the most-ancient southern coastal communities of Statos-Vey thrive by their trade.

Whole and broken Sheret shells are scattered across the landscape and deep below the surface in every region of Statos-Vey and Rho-Jashun. There is ample evidence that the Suvuka fed on the creatures in southern and eastern Thermistal, now known as the south coast of the Mushumafal Peninsula and Pramath Island. While smooth by sight, the shell has numerous tiny hooks, allowing groups of shells to be securely fastened together to form a flexible and durable permanent net.

These hooks serve the live creature in elaborate mating rituals. The shells' colour range depends on their initial feeding when newly hatched. Most-ancient Tolku learned to raise them in watery beds and feed them treated Elara and other foods to produce more desirable colours for later trade. Due to their eventual employment in protecting Danam Yeldic Upata Bulbs later in the Emaxul Age, they were located within Tatchlan and significantly improved for this critical use. Due to its eventual vital role in the later Cluster-of-Clusters Nation of the Secondary Epoch, brought about within Tatchlan, they were granted this icon.

The Queldeday is an entirely separate creature of a different benefit throughout history. While occupying the same territory during certain stages of their lives, Sheret and Queldeday avoid each other.

Blue Star

This small sea creature familiar to the southern shores of the Panchala Sea is known for its elegant appearance and potent venom. It has seven radiating arms and a large egg-shaped red spot on its back. While this spot is the reservoir for a small amount of toxins to secrete if it feels threatened, it appears primarily to ward off molestation. The females are famous for guiding their young in seven small clumps between each of their arms.

This creature has gained respect and affection among coastal populations from prehistoric times. Sailors would introduce them onto their ship hulls to assist in clearing them of many clinging pests. While of little practical use beyond shipping, the Uluvatu Masters appear to have appreciated their simplicity and elegance and have found them easily on The General Plain; they had this very early icon fashioned. Thus, this little creature would achieve symbolic status during both the Pre-Tatchlan period and later during the Primary and Secondary Epochs, when they become associated with royalty.

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Land Creatures

Pathuda

Pathuda are a four-legged beast of burden native to Statos-Vey and Rho-Jashun. They have long ears and wide eyes adapted to being used at night and during the day. Other characteristics include their strong backs and long legs. Their manes and tails are thick, yet they may produce luxurious textiles when treated. Their coat is blue-grey, and while short and dense, it is water resistant.

Males develop small horns in the spring only to shed them mid-summer. Their unique nasal formation allows them to make clear calls like no other creature.

This has led to specialized horns being used to manage large herds and maintain caravans. These horns also have ceremonial applications among the Danam Yelda, for whom the Pathuda are linked to the Cluster Virtue of Patience. They have a protruding lower lip, leading to the phrase ‘making a Pathuda Face,’ meaning someone is pouting. They are docile by nature and can haul many times their weight.

They are employed in both the country and the city to pull carts. Rural clusters also use them for ploughing. While they may also be ridden, it is primarily the venerably aged and the very young who do so. The Yelda primarily uses these creatures, as they are too small for the Koru. An adult Koru could pull as much weight as a Pathuda without rest for roughly half as long. The Koru have equivalent animals, the Vima, to do similar work.

Queldeday

This is a small sea creature common along the coasts of the Panchala Sea. After living underwater for a decade, it comes up onto certain coastal rocks. These must be so positioned as to be regularly underwater during high tide. They feed on the rock for a few years. They move along the rock gradually until the waves no longer submerge them.

At this time, their bodies change, and they begin to glow brightly at night. The Foremost Ones learned to tame and gently modify them. They placed them along narrow paths and within the mountains to provide light. They have since been adapted to light a ship's way at night and be carried by individuals. Their light attracts Blood Midges and other night flyers, which they feed on. They are also known as Zirall and Booval. Despite having similar habits and habituating similar shorelines, Queldeday and Sheret have no dealings with each other.

This icon illustrates one of the ways these creatures are employed once they reach their mature state. They are able, usually during the day when they are less active, to be induced to climb onto an object such as a stick or rod and will remain there through the night.

As such, they become a mobile light source. This is a less conventional way to use them as they are susceptible to touching at night while feeding. It is more common to situate them in a permanent setting in public areas, such as Mantle Establishments, to facilitate nighttime activities.

The Venerable Koru also employ them, although primarily as fixtures, often in concert with Tuchus Vines, in their glowing interiors.

Danta

This is among the largest, hardiest, and most adapting of the grazing beings found through equatorial and temperate zones across Anu. They are covered in multiple interlocking green scales, making them near impervious to attack, except for their vulnerable undersides. Their long head horn is hollow and is used to sound a series of notes in various configurations that can be heard over great distances. These horns collectively sound in ripples or waves from the front to back or side of their spread-out herds. The early Tolku took these natural horns and modified them for long-distance signalling. Later, they carved them into beautiful flutes, able to produce glorious low tones and inspire multiple cultural movements based on music (see Danta Horn Musical Instruments). With the growing urban refinements of dynastic rule, even more sophisticated applications were discovered. Chief among these was the perfection of Culsu, the finest grade of velum parchment.

One reason for these primordial beings' success is that Danta herds of various sizes may occupy a diversity of climates and thrive on widely differing diets. Their primary landscape is grassland in Southern Statos-Vey, Central and Northern Rho-Jashun and Central and Eastern Thermistal. They travel in annual migration routes spanning continents.

They can also range into the deep jungle and high plains and even manage on the edges of the desert. Their herds vary in size according to the terrain. In open grassland, they can number in the thousands; in deep jungles, they may number twenty or less.

Another aspect of these creatures is how vast a following their herds enjoy. Huge numbers of other animals, belonging to all ranks of animate life, follow these herds, even beyond their natural territories. A huge ‘Savannah Herd’ is said to carry an entire world on its back. This Primary Epoch Icon has been faithfully reproduced well into the Secondary Epoch by Koru and Yelda, even though the exotic bird depicted riding on the mother’s back has long been extinct. Such is the perfection of the image in evolving this ‘carrying a world’ motif.

In most-ancient times, the Tolku’s first unifying continental government, the Funomanru Dynasty, mounted a campaign to domesticate and control the migrations of these vast herds to minimize their damaging crops and growing urban settlement. Even these early efforts were built on previous initiatives. The succeeding Buyanupithar Dynasty continued this work, leading to established highways for their migrations, some of which persist to be used in the present. At the same time, the emerging Tatchlan Masters, who initially only succeeded in affecting the infinitesimally small forms of animate life, successfully linked to them. Long before the Uluvatu Masters, they managed to locate and gently modify these giants within the Living System with ease. While a lower level of perfection to Insect Civilizations or Cousins, these early Masters accorded great affection to these gentle beasts, which were said to require very little attention before becoming fully present within Tatchlan. This laid the foundation for the Tolku of the Primary Epoch and the Yelda of the Secondary Epoch to herd them on the Skin of Anu.

Danta on Thermistal

In pre-Tatchlan times, the continent of Thermistal was shrouded in myth and superstition, with few explorers ever returning from its shores. While the early Masters achieved much, their formulation of tools and applications within Tatchlan was incomplete. An unforeseen result of their work within the Living System on the Danta was the accidental domestication of another branch of creature living on Thermistal. The Suvuka's defeat and sequestering behind the Vettencore Passage revealed a mystery. The Tolku were now confronted by many southern animals, including the Danta, on this northern continent. This led to intensive research and theorizing that came to be known as ‘Migration Theory.’ This discovery of another separate population of Danta and certain other animals and plants on Thermistal resolved an enigma encountered by these early Tatchlan Masters. Reports of a puzzling ‘echo’ or ‘shadow’ around these beings within the Living System grew during their work. This remained a conundrum until discovering this secondary population, which had diverged subtly from the southern breed, was confirmed, and northern samples were examined.

Unbeknownst to the developing Tolku nations of Rho-Jashun and Statos-Vey, a rival civilization of a very different sort thrived on Thermistal, that of the quadruped Suvuka. They had begun as small, isolated herds foraging over vast ranges. There is some evidence of native herd beasts which the Suvuka initially hunted. Early in their history, these appear to have disappeared with the arrival of Danta in their vast herds. Sporadic evidence suggests the Suvuka initially tried to fight this incursion but then displayed their ‘Collective Crown’ by adapting and turning from hunter/gatherers into herders. They lived something of a pastoral existence and, among other things, herded Danta as part of their continental management of all livestock under their control.

A quaint tradition developed for when these large, docile creatures approached a settlement. It was found a rhythmic clapping of hands and chanting known as the ‘Thyma Rhyme’ unsettled them, and they would move away.

Danta Horn Musical Instruments

The horn extending out of the back of this beast’s head is hollow and used for various herd calls. In prehistoric times, it was discovered that this dense raw construction could be improved in multiple ways by cutting, carving, drilling, and turning to create various wind instruments. The unique composition and density of the material lead to a tone of startling richness. While their skin, flesh, and bones had many uses, their horns became specialized craft and trade items from very early times. The carved surfaces of some of the most-ancient monumental Witness Monuments display the domestication of Danta to produce their horns. Different ages of the beast had other qualities to the harvested horns. Younger Danta horns could be fashioned into some of the most exquisite flutes. Elder horns may be sliced into thin rings and hollowed out to create musical chimes when struck. These instruments came to be associated with deep culture due to their rich music and ultimately became a symbol of refinement and an art-enriched life. Due to this association, this Primary Epoch icon has become associated with the Koru Dallamaplan and the Danam Yelda’s Variothya Erudite Bureau of the Enumerator Ministry.

Thyma

These are predators travelling in small packs of five to ten adult members and as many juveniles. They are swift and fierce killers possessing keen intelligence. They have often been seen breaking off pursuit when seeing a situation no longer favouring success. They are usually found shadowing Danta herds and picking off the old and young.

Throughout pre-Tatchlan times, these creatures posed many challenges to the early Tolku. They were known to attack and kill children and, in times of scarce game, any single individual. It was always understood they and the aerial Kumastam would avoid groups of Tolku, leading rural populations to form small companies whenever possible to travel through the open country. Such secure formations appear to have played a role in the eventual formations of Circles-of-Eight. There is some evidence of attempts to capture young and domesticate them, but it seems these efforts inevitably failed when they reached adulthood.

It was learned early in prehistory that wholesale slaughter of these creatures led to many unforeseen problems with the resulting overpopulation of prey animals.

It was determined a variety of schemes to manage their numbers and restrict their movements was the wiser course. It was known that some large farming estates would capture one or two young Thyma and place them inside vast fenced compounds surrounding valued crops or orchards. These single Thyma would patrol their territory and attack any other creature venturing into this area. As with all such strategies, this programme met with only limited success. Thanks to the early Practicians, they did possess a deep conditioning. This was manifest because even those packs outside domestic use will be stopped from approaching a cluster by employing the ‘Thyma Rhyme.’

Tatchlan tames the beasts

Early in the Greater Era of the Primary Epoch, a specialized Estate of Invocates finally found a way to tame the Thyma. They located them within The Living System and began a long modification process. First and foremost, they build in a profound inhibition against viewing a Tolku as a food item. Once this was firmly established, they sufficiently altered their mental processes to allow them to see Tolku as an extension of their pack and thus take direction from them. This opened up a whole new role for them as servants patrolling the edges of domesticated herd animals and finally being true guardians of rural territories.

Thyma are known for their co-ordination and, above all, their sudden attack. For this reason, this Primary Epoch Icon shows them in a fashion emphasizing their ferocity and speed over detailing their proportions and features. What is missing is the length of their snout, their lean bodies, sturdy back legs and long tails.

Not surprisingly, Thyma are prominent in many most-ancient epics and other traditional literature. Their five fearsome horns surrounding their face and wicked talons guaranteed them a place amongst frightening and cautionary tales of old. Even the Tatchlan Masters associated this icon with Hesha Vira, the Face of Raw Life. These frightful images are also associated with both the Tatchlan realm of Indatuban gus and as a stand-in for the concept of The Common Desire.

Evidence shows that when the early Tatchlan Masters found the Thyma, they almost also found the Suvuka but failed to distinguish them. They were undoubtedly very different beings, but their proximity confused them. It was later learned that the Suvuka had already developed their own rudimentary control and management over the Thyma packs of Thermistal. During The Interim, the first Koru re-established their connection with the Thyma. Still, it was left to the Danam Yelda to fully utilize them again as the Foremost Ones had during the Primary Epoch.

Toohund

This predator is a distant relation to the Shesha, who takes a very different form. The Toohund lives in the deep desert. It has a central bulb body with a net webbing spreading far around it. The creature buries itself in the sand and vibrates its net to cause the sand to shift and cover it. When an animal steps on the net, they are immediately stung by one of the most potent poisons of Anu.

The upper side of the net is covered with a network of white hairs, known to have been able to pierce the thick pads on a Suvuka’s paw and bring it down instantly. Once stung, the prey is enveloped by the net and dragged towards the body. The creature has a powerful beak on its underside, which can easily snap bones. The net also serves the unlikely function of being a land sail. During a storm or strong wind, the Toohund can lift the net and catch the wind, allowing it to sail surprising distances.

This Primary Epoch icon focuses on the appalling part of the creatures, their deadly white hairs. This view is exaggerated as if the viewer were shrunk to the size of a Ketukku Scout.

From this vantage point, the hairs rise from the layer of webbing buried just below the surface of the sand. For an adult Tolku or Yelda walking in the desert, the hairs are tiny and easily missed when the sun emblazons the sands they emerge from. The Tolku of the Primary Epoch learned to only walk on rock when entering their domain and went to great lengths to create stepping pathways across vast swaths of desert. Unfortunately, shifting sands often covered these, so treks in the desert were limited.

In ancient times, they were named the ‘Royalty of the Desert,’ as everyone feared and respected them. The female lays eggs and keeps them stuck to her underside. When the babies hatch, they continue to live on her, feeding on her catches and finally turning to feed on her. They then move off to begin their careers. The young have a hard shell cast off by the second or third year of life. When an adult Toohund dies, their netting curls tight around their bodies, forming a fused mass that hardens. These rigid corpses form part of the landscape and serve as a habitat for specific creatures seeking them out. Offspring have been known to stay on the mother’s dead body for a time, using it as a nest before taking to the winds. On rare occasions, conditions are suitable for the tiny brain to harden after death to form a rare gem (see Thonglan).

There are two types of Toohund on Anu. What is known as the ‘Toohund Major’ is found in the two great deserts of Thermistal, the Kyu and Kukernef. Surprisingly, a smaller version, the ‘Toohund Minor,’ is located on Statos-Vey’s only desert, the Luntung on the Luduva Peninsula, seven thousand and east of the Kukernef Desert across the Panchala Sea. The Tolku of the Primary Epoch long pondered how the Toohund could cross from Thermistal to Statos-Vey. The most-ancient Gashandak Treasury Abridged Encyclopedia summarizes many theories about how this happened. The only certainty is that a small number migrated from the Kukernef Desert to the Luntung Desert in prehistoric times. While smaller, its hairs are just as deadly. The two modern Danam Yeldic provinces bordering the Luntung Desert, Yilot-Yiff and Rusa-Ruloy, have extensive protocols for residents and visitors regarding how to avoid their snares.

As strange as Toohund is on the Skin of Anu, they are even more odd within the Living System of Tatchlan. They are among a rare few beings classified as ‘Shadows.’ This means they do not have a precise location or definitive form and thus cannot be modified. A great deal of effort was expended during the Primary Epoch to transmute their potent venom into medicine without success due to this fact.

It is as if they are not truly alive, which they demonstrably are, or they are not native to the Planet Anu. They share this mystifying quality with another strange phenomenon, Hungry Rock. Hungry Rock displays no living attributes, yet it is ambiguous within the Living System, classified as a ‘Shadow.’ The fact these two unlikely entities share this quality within Tatchlan intrigued and frustrated generations during The Primary Epoch.

Thethelem

This flat, small, translucent surface feeder is known for living on all kinds of odours. It never takes in anything substantial enough to see, nor does it imbibe open water, but it lives on mist and minute particles filling the air right at the surface of the Skin of Anu. They are very hardy, thriving in most climates, but are most numerous in tropical regions. They have almost no thickness, are nearly weightless, and are rounded in shape with an angled tail behind them. They are often referred to as ‘floating tissue.’ They are propelled forward by tiny hairs on their underside along with gliding on small air currents. Despite their diminutive appearance, they are seldom harmed by being stepped on. They appear to have no predators and possess no fear of other creatures. They are equally attracted to fair and foul odours, treating each enthusiastically. They have been seen gathering in numbers around a carcass and forming swooping rings able to consume all scent to the point witnesses say there is no stench left around the body.

This Primary Epoch Icon shows them travelling over many different odour landscapes and thriving on all of them. Their numbers symbolize their ubiquitous presence over most of the Skin of Anu. Readers may be forgiven for assuming the Koru would equally prize them and share a role within their interiors with the Skayo, but the opposite is true. This is due to the Skayo living off moisture, but the Thethelem feeding on odours. Because of this, they are actively discouraged from entering Koru Living Mountains and Yeldic cluster compounds as they will suck up all the treasured aromas of the cluster.

The Koru developed many ingenious ways to inhibit their entry into their original mountain chambers, and later, their Living Mountains were designed partly to keep them out. Many of these involved filters fitted into separated entranceways, allowing entrance and exit without giving them an opportunity. Yeldic cluster compounds have also developed ways to discourage these creatures from entering. If they do, they are gently caught and removed quickly. Rural Clusters tend to see them as a nuisance as they may begin to form large herds circling the compound to gain entry and feast on the inner cluster aromas. Urban clusters have to deal with them, but given the concentration of clusters around them, the creatures appear to be satisfied by the cumulative escaping scents and are less inclined to try to get in.

Both Koru and Yelda also employ the repugnant aromas of Black Yal, encased in small Tuntle nuts. These are imported from regions surrounding Dead Blood fields and deployed around entrances, urban junctures, and entire Rural Cluster Compounds. They are placed in specially-designed ‘Stench Traps,’ where the seal is broken, and the pungent odours draw all Thethelem to them, where they may congregate for many two weeks while ignoring surrounding clusters.

Despite these inconveniences, the Thethelem are regarded with affection for their vital role. It is said without their work, the odours of Anu would be overwhelming, certainly for the refined noses of the present day. They help to civilize the rude wilderness of much of its crudity by diminishing the vulgar reek of Raw Life.

On the infrequent occasion where it is mandated that a cluster must be disbursed through Scent Separation, it is common for all doors to be opened to the vacated compound, allowing the Thethelem to flow in and cleanse it of all residual odours before a new cluster occupies it. Depending on the size of this compound, this may take several days. Once purged, the creatures move out of their own volition, and those moving in re-establish the filters and other boundaries to prevent their return.

The Uluvatu Masters loved these creatures for living on odour alone and used their forms in their work. They are also said to have a vital presence within the Living System, making them relatively easy to find. The early Masters were aware of their potential to disrupt cluster life through their odour consumption. They worked to build into them various inhibitions to avoid particular barriers even when they sensed heavy concentrations of odours beyond them. For many generations, these tools have continued to be perfected by generations of Koru and Yeldic Operants and Invocates within Tatchlan. The Thethelem are distant relations to the Skayo and Srinitya.

Plagues

Brangnam Plague

Brangnam Plague was a cyclical horror that swept through populated regions once in several centuries, bringing terrible suffering and near-certain death to vast numbers of Tolku. It began with a burning fever leading to frightful boils and other outbreaks and ended with the bones breaking down and the body losing all cohesion and liquifying. Its periodic visitations ended many prehistoric civilizations, and historically, it contributed to the fall of the Funomanru Dynasty during the Lesser Era of the Primary Epoch.

An extended study led to the confirmation of the following facts. Long before any historical record, Brangnam had existed in a milder form among all Cousins. At some point in the distant past, it changed its aspect and began to attack the early Tolku. Initially, this nightmare was limited due to the wide dispersal of small populations, but as urban civilization grew, the plague grew in ferocity and devastated these early communities.

Some of the earliest surviving texts make mention of these epidemics and how it made no distinction between classes and rank. This by itself caused social disruption as early priesthoods and other authorities were as subject as all others to its malignancy. This both undermined their authority and robbed stricken communities of leadership. It is thought the tradition of ‘Merciful Suicide’ came into being as a result of this torment. All Tolku became united in fearing this scourge and sought a way to combat it. These efforts were hampered by a lack of understanding of what Brangnam was and how it spread.

Eventually, the first Tatchlan Masters began their work and, among many tasks, sought out Brangnam within what would come to be called Indatubangus, the realm of Raw Life. Its manifestation was elusive and appeared to evade initial attempts to locate it, but eventually, it was found and contained. The Masters working on this isolated themselves entirely from all contact in a remote enclosure.

Tradition says that another wave of Brangnam swept over the area almost immediately. The belief at the time declared it was attempting to halt their efforts. Due to their seclusion, they were unaffected and continued their work. It took generations working in remote settings to successfully ‘turn it' and examine its underbelly within Tatchlan. This led to successfully capturing and growing these vile entities into a stew they could safely study.

Brangnam Plague's true conversion came with the work on another being, known as the Takshakutan. These two intensive sets of labours came together in the final modification of Brangnam from an uncontrollable blight into a tool. This was achieved by essentially ‘pulling its teeth' and thus robbing it of any ‘bite.'

Its malice remained, but now the collective infinitesimals could only proceed in the direction laid out for them. Brangnam became a refiner and cleanser of redundant or undesirable portions of raw life within the Living System and on the Skin of Anu. It achieved fame when Master Duamang took hold of the Brangnam within Tatchlan and provided a single ‘tooth' to afflict the Suvuka. She was determined to end them within the occupied territories but refused to allow the Brangnam to assume its former ways. Master Duamang also modified several branches of Blood Midges to serve as carriers to take the plague to the Suvuka.

She restricted her charges to sterilizing the creatures, and due to the Blood Midges range carrying them, this was limited to those Suvuka found on Rho-Jashun. After the Killing Swath and the following period known as The Interim, the first Koru Majastas, Zudaz I, deemed it time to end the Suvuka on all Anu. Once again, this new form of the Brangnam Plague was unleashed on all Suvuka of Anu. This led to the sterilization of the entire population and their eventual extinction. After this, Majastas Zudaz I turned the plague against itself, leading to another extinction of the Brangnam itself. This is one of the few instances where, beyond this grim work, the only solution to a malignant agency was its destruction.   All that remains is the relatively benign version initially found only in Cousin populations.

Jimin Plague 

This periodic pestilence is caused by infinitesimals only turning malignant during the Secondary Epoch. It is also distinguished by leaving the rest of the body untouched as it focuses on the brain. The Jimin colony causes terrible suffering, which may be crowned by death. Early stages exhibit headaches, memory loss and mental lapses. Most of those contracting this condition move from these symptoms back to health. The utterance of strings of high-pitched verbal nonsense signals there is no hope, and death is inevitable. It is nearly impossible to predict who will succumb and who will survive. Autopsy reveals victims with a significant reduction of brain mass and often bizarre distortions of the remaining matter. Aside from personal suffering, hearing and loved ones utter the ‘Jimin Gibberish,' which is sufficiently intense to cause nausea, is the worst effect of this plague.

There were no recorded cases of this malady before the Sixth Cycle of the second Full Burning Blossom of the Secondary Epoch. This commenced in 145,918 UKC and 97,199 of the Danam Yelda's Nantu Age calendar. This was during the tragic reign of Majastas Hertamasa XIX. Without warning, a small cluster named Jimin, living in Venda-Vesta Provincial Centre in Southern Statos-Vey, suddenly appeared mad amid the chaos of the Blossom Cycle. Screaming what would later become known as ‘Jimin Gibberish,' the entire Third Grade cluster ran out of their compound into the streets before all falling dead. This extreme reaction has seldom been repeated since and is studied in attempts to understand Jimin's nature better. This sad episode is detailed in the fourth novel of this series, ‘Shelter from the LIGHT.’

Given the high incidents of Nu Sickness and other related disorders, it was not distinguished as a new event. Subsequent analysis and further outbreaks revealed the emergence of this previously harmless agent that the Blossom altered. While several other maladies emerged after this Blossom Cycle, none were feared like Jimin. Since then, Jimin outbreaks have been infrequent and tend to occur during periods of social and political disturbance. This has led to their becoming near unknown on Statos-Vey and Rho-Jashun while returning to the new Yeldic populations of Thermistal during their troubles during the Third Yeldic Age, known as the Quantha Age. Given the disturbances within the Living System reflected by the Yeldic societies on Thermistal, it has been suggested that the Jimin Plague is an external manifestation of distress within Tatchlan. Much work remains to be done, and it is too soon to say if ongoing modifications within the Living System will lead to its transformation or destruction. Such endeavours will likely require many generations.

When an outbreak does occur within civilized territories, the Calamity Bureau of the Commandant Ministry contains the affected population while the Pacifier Bureau of the Wellbeing Ministry treats the victims. The modern Jimin Plague, and the most-ancient Brangnam Plague, are seen as symbols of Raw Life presided over by the Tatchlan Face of Hesha Vira.

Tarops

This infection has very different effects on different species. The Koru are rarely, if ever, affected. The few confirmed cases mention a mild fever at most. In Yelda, it can cause notable changes and patterns in skin coloration. There may be a fever lasting for an extended period. In worse cases, this can be a disfiguring disease. It can lead to lasting scars that do not diminish with shedding. The Yakku are far more susceptible. On rare occasions, this can be fatal to them, mainly if there are other stresses or health factors. At such times, the disease may move beyond the skin to attack internal organs with speed. There is no record of fatalities in either Koru or Yelda. There have been suggestions by some extreme elements of Yakku society that Tarops is a weapon of the Koru and Koru Yelda.

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Within the Flesh of Anu

Jesplace

This is a class of beings dwelling at immense depths beneath the Skin of Anu. While possessing many divergent characteristics, they share one feature in common: none are endowed with even vestigial eyes. They appear to have emerged in complete blackness in the deep recesses of prehistoric times. The term ‘Jesplace,’ from a forgotten tongue, is understood to mean those ‘born without eyes.’

As with many other tomes of obscure material, collections within the Treasuries devoted to Jesplace were initially dismissed due to the lack of current knowledge of this entire class of living beings. Despite the Venerable Koru’s extensive excavations within the Mulungu Mountains and elsewhere on Rho-Jashun, it was the Danam Yelda who, by accident, rediscovered one representative of this group in a deep cavern within the Veradapandra Mountains in 140,356 UKC.

Later identified from Treasury sources, a portion of what appeared to be a significant ‘Faval’ herd was displayed in Bhampay for study and wonder. Being utterly indifferent to any form of light, most were either pure white or black. Yet, some of these creatures displayed remarkable hues due to their distinctive diet under certain light conditions.

An accurate account of this vast, complex and interdependent population was realized when the Koru excavated their Deep Domains. Eventually, it was determined that the population was far more extensive and diverse than what dwelt on the Skin of Anu. To the amazement of all, these percentages exceeded the majority of beings active at night instead of the day on the surface. The discovery of many new unctions and salves and a host of novel functional elements that could augment Healing Vats opened new chapters for the Pacifier, and Doubles and Vats Bureaus, and other ministries in the Koru and Danam Yeldic Wellbeing Ministries.

Within Tatchlan, these beings had a shadow presence pondered by a succession of Majastas. The terms ‘background life’ and ‘under life’ appear in many Koru and Danam-Yeldic Majastas Annotations. Throughout Deep Domain history, a succession of Koru Majastas intensively studied this enormous population and successfully fashioned ‘handles’ for most to benefit Anu. In so doing, they became a vital resource during subsequent Burning Blossom Cycles, as they remained unmoved by what took place andas over their heads. With the catastrophic intensity of the Second Blossom Cycle series of the Secondary Epoch, they began to be employed to augment The Shift strategy. With some difficulty, links were made to fortify such instruments as Kanart Mushrooms better to shelter those on the surface during these terrible events.

During the Tertiary Epoch, the Koru fell into a growing mysticism, manifesting in part in intense deference for the Jesplace, whom they regarded as the purest form of life on Anu. This was partly due to the Jesplace being oriented downwards to the radiating heat of Anu's core. No more shall be said about this vast population, possessing previously unimagined powers and abilities, as their true knowledge and utilization occur during the Tertiary Epoch, which is beyond the scope of this novel series.

Ketukku Queen

Ketukku Drone

Ketukku Nurse

Ketukku Soldier

Ketukku Builder

Ketukku Scout

Ketukku Spy

Ketukku Farmer

Anu Awakes Series copyright © Lyn McGinnis 2020