Living Instruments
This section covers a wide range of creatures of Tatchlan
appearing in one or more Anu Awakes Series books. These living entities take various forms, have differing proportions of Tatchlan modification, and come into being at varying times. They all share the distinction of being awakened by the Living System to serve the Tolku, Koru
and Danam Yeldic
Cluster-of-Clusters Nations
and the Yakku Regional Tree Nation. While many beings share this title, the Premier Class of Living Instrument
is fundamental to the existence of the rest.
Before all else
Lustrum Mirror, Large bonded surface of reflective flesh, Focal point refuge and place of strength, Original Mirror survives with thousands more, Lustrum Mirror and the links to Dream Guides, Late Primary Epoch culture becomes early Secondary Epoch debate, Guardians forget Dream Guides, Amarel Mountain brings new appreciation and restraint
Primary Epoch remnants
Tatchlan Skin Patterning, Recovered Ones 


Premier Class
Unique Creatures, Living Instrument Shell Intonation, Yom Sha, Instrument Manifests, The Link,
 Invocate-Instrument Link Essential
All other classes
Colonies: Healing Vat, Vat Classes, All Vats begin as Pre-Vats, Enriched Vat, Double-Ripened Vat, Mother Vat,Majastas Dissolution Vat, Multitude Dissolution Vat, Majastas absorbs vat, Vat Masters, Vat Masters employ Mother Vat eggs during emergencies, Healing Vat and Blood, Pre-Vats and Stillbirths, Vat’s as Anu quake warnings, Vat Circles, Salt Vats, Acoon, Sheshenara Nectar, Cohort Jelly, Shashelvan
Plants
Tuchus Vines, Larpana Time, Larpana Day Cycle, Larpana Night Cycle, Signs of coming Burning Blossom, Nara
Animals
Cousins, Shesha, Vima, Takshakutan, Lascivious Gains, Krall, Krall in History, Ninusay Web, Vilates, Dry Vilates, Wet Vilates
Plants/Animals
Upata Bulb, Bulb monitors health through feet, Living cluster compounds, Bulbs within Tatchlan, Sixty-Four Breeds of Bulbs, Bulbs form Encirclement society, Duets, Trios, Quartets, Quintets, Sextets, Septets, and Octets, Burning Blossom protection, Scent Separations and Upata Touched
Edifice Bureau Plant/Animals

Koru Insects and Insect Societies
Yakku Instruments
Tamaroth Forests, Gidalist, Mernet Tree, Mernet Balls, Waving Arms
Before all else
Lustrum Mirror
Those Sensitives
who first delved into the inner roots of raw life saw the formidable barriers to their mission. While they had the structure of all living things to reshape, their more daunting task lay within themselves. Once they began to find each other within Indatubangus, the Realm of Raw Life, they struggled to divest themselves of the legacy of blind survival which dominated all those drawing breath. Self-Absorption
was life’s self-defence against the terrible indifference of the non-living and the constant threats of deprivation and pain among the living.
The result was all life hung on a never-ending wheel of greedy mouths consuming and themselves being consumed. These first Practicians opened their eyes to the spectacle of tenuous, desperate and inflamed flesh as a blind behemoth stumbling towards oblivion. Tolku
society shared this plight with the rest of life. In time, all social dealings, each noble effort, and all aspirations were degraded and undermined by Self-Absorption in what came to be known as the predictable round of its Four Generations.
With the early Practicians
enmeshed within this sad machinery, they sought to emerge from the horror and begin their work.
Large bonded surface of reflective flesh
Eventually, they found the key they sought within the ‘Kingdom of Pain’ itself. By being of the same essence, the concentrations of self-absorption came to the surface of their inner bodies when standing on the seething surface of Indatubangus. Moreover, certain living materials, reflecting these early Master‘s faces back to them, also revealed these unsightly tubers. These reflecting elements were deemed to have an ‘affinity’ with these polyps and thus made them visible to all. It became known that reaching for these entities via these reflections allowed them to be captured in their hands and removed. This led to the earliest collective effort among this initial generation to fashion a large bonded surface of this reflective flesh. Those standing before it found they could make an inventory of all pockets of self-absorption and remove and cast them away one at a time. On rare occasions, this Mirror claimed particular items for themselves, pulling them in like a Consumption Monolith. In this way, the Lustrum Mirror, the first defining work of the emerging Tatchlan Masters, came to be.
Focal point, refuge and place of strength
This singular entity, surrounded by the chaos of Raw Life, became the unlikely gathering site for the first Masters. Surrounding their first triumph, they could formulate more extensive plans and commence collective work. This also became the improbable site of what could be termed an open academy, hosting ongoing discussions on the fundamentals of the situation and all possible ways forward. It also served as a theatre for examination and experimentation. The first growths of the new Tatchlan
layer sprouted and formed a marvellous garden of exotic swaying forms. All this activity was facilitated by early innovations dampening the surrounding riot. The first generations of Masters gathered at this site to continue purging themselves of their Self-Absorption
vestiges and use the Lustrum Mirror
to refine and strengthen their new creations. On the Skin of Anu, these Masters began coming together and forming a culture while maintaining initial secrecy about their activities. They also started reaching out to others, sensing who possessed the right mind and ability to join them. All would stand before the Lustrum Mirror before commencing to lay their hands on the growing work.
Original Mirror survives with thousands more
Despite the passage of the entire Primary Epoch, the chaos of The Killing Swath
and the new life of the Secondary Epoch, this first Lustrum Mirror is still located on the surface of Indatubangus. It is joined by 743,907 other Lustrums spread across Raw Life. All originated in the Primary Epoch and proved resilient despite the Rectification. None will be found anywhere else within the Living System. This is because only here in this place of blind grasping and consuming may the retrieved elements of Self-Absorption
be extricated. This is also the only place they are reduced to their composite elements before being remade into far more beautiful constituents of new life.
Lustrum Mirror and the links to Dream Guides
There were several thick volumes on these Lustrum Mirrors found within the Treasuries. Due to a break in Lustrum traditions during The Interim, they were treated as obscure items of questionable modern value. The uncovering of the sheltered Amarel Mountain
site in the city of Bhampay and the discovery of the Final Tolku Proclamation at the same time indirectly led to a re-examination of this material. In light of these events, Venerable Scholars
found their vision clarified, and they read with wonder what had once been a dominant tradition for much of the Primary Epoch.
Along with continuing to purge and fortify those serving within the Living System, there was a growing impetus for any members of the Cluster-of-Clusters Nation, including Mundanes, to avail themselves of the opportunity to be purified of their small concentrations of Self-Absorption. While the establishment of the Spokes of the Cluster Wheel
had evicted most of these vestiges, some still found small pockets challenging to overcome.
There is no surviving account of the origins of the Dream Guides, but their purpose was clear. Along with allowing all Tolku
to experience, in a limited fashion, the wonders of the Living System, they brought their dreamer to a selected Lustrum Mirror
on Indatubangus. There are descriptions of long lines of dreamers, attended to by their Dream Guides, waiting with patience until their time had come with the Lustrum.
Late Primary Epoch culture becomes early Secondary Epoch debate
A difference of opinion has always surrounded the employment of Lustrums
by the general population via Dream Guides. The Lustrum Mirror was, at the outset, a vital survival tool for the early Lesser Era Masters
before the establishment of the first Cluster-of-Clusters Nation
of the Tolku. Once implemented, it remained a necessary purge for those working within Tatchlan, including Invocates
and Operants. All were now conceived and raised within clusters. The wholesome oversight of the Spokes of the Cluster Wheel and the knowledge of the Lustrum Mirror now being hidden from view lead to no further thought being given to the subject.
It was the construction of the secondary tribe of Dream Guides
in the latter portion of the Primary Epoch
that made general access to the Lustrums possible. Meagre inferences in most-ancient literature suggest there was mild contention as to the benefits and value of this development. None concerned themselves with this new avenue for all sampling a vivid encounter with Tatchlan. The issue was seeking out Lustrum Mirrors
and the growing culture around this practice. In theory, Self-Absorption
was already defeated, and what few vestiges remained were often either domesticated or rooted out in Ripe Adulthood. The growing impetus toward Lustrums was a deep regard for achieving perfection through repeated visits over many years. Though none survive, references are made to manuals and songs extolling the value of this practice.
Due to this growing passion, the number of Lustrum Mirrors doubled on the surface of Indatubangus, along with a proliferation of cultural and artistic works dedicated to them and the Dream Guides on the Skin of Anu. The belief that specific mirrors had a particular effect on certain types of Self-Absorption led to individual Dream Guides being associated with being able to seek out what became presented as a specialized Lustrum Mirror. Credence in the truth of such claims blossomed among the general population, while those regularly entering the Living System appear to have maintained neutrality on the resulting discussions. No one could argue with the benefits of this practice or how it enriched many aspects of community life. The monumental depictions of the Dream Guides around the Amarel Mountain monument
in Bhampay, as detailed in the second novel of this series, ‘Amarel Mountain,’ make clear their importance in later Primary Epoch life. Yet, like all fashions, it appears ardour eventually cooled towards this culture, but faith in Dream Guides and their ability to lead one to their Mirror persisted.
Guardians forget Dream Guides
Few to none of the population subscribing to these beliefs appeared from the Rectification
to become Guardians. There is no mention of Dream Guides
in the earliest literature of the First Generation. No effort seemed to be made to retrieve Troves
dedicated to their role in Primary Epoch
life. This indifference continued as the Second and Third Generation worked within the Sanctuaries. The brave members of the Fourth Generation of what were now Koru
appear to have no notion of what was once a powerful element of Primary Epoch culture. By the year one hundred of The Interim, there were oblique intimations to ‘lesser works’ of Tatchlan
not deemed necessary to rebuilding the Cluster-of-Cluster Nation. These are now viewed as references to this Dream Guide culture. The first Invocates
and Operants
focused on the altered landscape of Tatchlan, the revival of the Faces, and the rousing of the Living System. The first Majastas
of the Secondary Epoch, Zudaz-Vozev, placed an ‘inhibition’ on all enquiries for the duration of Her reign.
Amarel Mountain brings new appreciation and restraint
With the discovery of the Amarel Mountain
site at Bhampay, detailed in the second novel
of this series, including its astonishing collection of one-hundred rendered Dream Guides
surrounding the ‘Tribute Chamber,’ the notion of universal access to the Lustrum Mirrors
via these guides reasserted itself into reputable discourse. As had taken place in the Primary Epoch, the young Koru
Cluster-of-Clusters Nation
welcomed the enrichment offered by the revived Dream Guides. A new form of culture, fuelled by extensive works from the Treasuries, blossomed. Yet, with time, this enthusiasm was tempered. Dream Guides gradually came to be more associated with pre-adulthood. They became central in new customs, mostly involving early rites of passage. While being conducted to a Lustrum Mirror remained a requirement for an Invocate, particularly those at the Initiate
and Encompassing Delver levels, most Ripe Adults
visit them once a decade. This became known as the performance of ‘Lustrum Immaculacy.’
Primary Epoch remnants
Tatchlan Skin Patterning
All Tatchlan
Creatures have a distinctive pattern on their skin: slightly raised circles or bumps or bumps within or surrounding small circles. These tiny formations are usually lighter in colour and form a continuous configuration across a portion or all of their exposed flesh. Variations in this patterning may also appear in other species not officially designated as Living Instruments, displaying their slight alteration by the Tatchlan System.
The presence of this signature feature is more prominent in some creatures than others. For instance, the tree-dwelling Cousins, the Mayku, are known for very prominent ring patterning on their faces. The Tolku
of the Primary Epoch
and the Koru, Yakku
and Yelda
of the Secondary Epoch
all bear this pattern. It is often so small as to be near invisible, except on certain body portions, including the upper arms and thighs. This is most prominent among the Koru and least among the Yakku.
Unlike the Yelda and Yakku, in the case of the Koru, there is seldom any colouration associated with the pattern, which is almost primarily known by touch. This is also the case with the Koru Yelda, named the Sumudin. The exception to his rule is with the Koru Yelda, known as the Kudurapala, whose dark flesh often shows vibrant colours in their patterning.
This Primary Epoch
Icon
shows a close-up view of the flesh of an unknown species displaying a marked ring circle pattern of a profoundly improved Living Instrument. Where possible, close examination would reveal these patterns as displaying the Uluvatu Master’s signature ‘eight within eight within eight’ design, signifying the presence of their ‘Increments of Eight Conventions.’
Recovered Ones
These are distinct subspecies of this category. The Tolku
fashioned them in the Primary Epoch, and those surviving the Killing Swath
either gravitated to or were rescued by the first Koru. Over time, they remade them to serve within their mountain and underground societies. Several of the below creatures are of this category
and will be noted.
Premier Class
Unique Creatures
While several Tatchlan
beings predate the formation of these unique creatures, they alone are of the Premier Class, given they are the primary way of accessing and participating within the Living System itself. The founding generation of Primary Masters
within Uluvatu Mountain on Statos-Vey
saw their perfection as key to laying the foundations of the Cluster-of-Clusters Nation
of the Tolku. Their fashioning consumed generations of Uluvatu Masters. What follows is the wonder of their ultimate success. These precious beings are exclusively raised within the depths of Queen Enclaves. Few are privy to the arcana of raising an egg-laying Living Instrument or the nurturance of a juvenile towards its precious adult stature. Still, it is known each of these steps is steeped in elaborate rituals.
After the calamitous fall of the Primary Epoch, the beleaguered population of surviving Tolku, now calling themselves the Guardians, sheltered within the Mulungu Mountains. Despite their suffering, they made the rescue of these Living Instruments and ensured their maintenance and survival their main priority, even above their safety. What is now known as the First Three Generations
brought what they could from the ashes. Despite the Second Suvuka Onslaught's
arrival, the Fourth Generation gathered as much that remained as possible. For this reason, these surviving remnants are known as the Recovered Ones.
Living Instrument Shell Intonation
When an Invocate
approaches a Living Instrument, their first task is to gain access. While Living Instruments have particular favourites, they are changeable and require wooing to ensure an Invocate may utilize them on that occasion. An initial bonding must be secured through an elaborate ceremony before granting access.
Depending on the ecstatic or Vision Window
agent used, this may entail the Invocate letting a drop of blood fall on the upper tip of the shell, traditionally named the ‘Snout,’ or they may shed their skin
as an offering, often repeatedly, leading to their insides being visible through their Underskin
for many two-weeks
during this process. Whatever means, the Living Instrument must ingest something of the Invocate, even if just their sweat from the heated chamber. When encountering a new set of Instruments, this ritual is repeated separately for several; after that, the Living Instruments appear to communicate. New bonds are possible without the elongated ceremony for some or all other Instruments housed within the Enclave.
A detailed description of this initial process may be found in the first novel of this series, ‘Hesha Vira's Challenge.’
This most-ancient icon
shows something of the variety of colourful shells the Living Instruments rest in prior to an Invocate bringing them out. These are generalized symbolic forms, and it must be noted that all shells are in four, six or more segments that split open when the Living Instrument emerges.
The earliest image of a Living Instrument is pictured here, dating from the Duamang Age
just before the Greater Era
of the Primary Epoch commences. It shows seven simple egg images clustered together with a single segment of a Living Instrument opening out of the top one. This image is now mostly seen within the Tatchlan Sigil Cube
formation.
After these initial rituals are completed by a newly graduated Full Invocate or an established Invocate to a new Enclave, sensitive and skillful courting continues to be necessary. For this reason, Invocates typically have four to eight Living Instrument Shells present and begin by stroking each and calling them by name to find one ready to respond. The Instrument dwells inside its sealed shell when at rest.
As generally indicated by this icon, this shell may take various forms. Most are flat on the bottom and have broad, tapering sides rising to a neck of varying thickness at the top. The shell surface is covered in a mottled bead pattern, which may be coloured in many ways, including dramatic contrasting designs. There is also clear evidence of the white rings of the system on their shell. Once one Egg responds to the Invocate’s touch, they begin the Intonation.
Yom Sha
These are usually a series of sounds formulated to please the Instrument, generally known as the ‘Intonation.’ This example is one of the oldest, said to date back to the Uluvatu Masters
themselves and are now used at many public ceremonies:
“Yom Sha, Yom Sha,
Vuna Sana Ya,
Wonal Chinnal Ya,
Sosu Yaso Jas,
Pana Musha Shay,
Sen! Sen! Sen!
Suv! Suv! Suv!
Sha! Sha! Sha!”
The Invocate
must quickly focus on the first Living Instrument Shell showing signs of responding. The shell will vibrate, and various snaps and low tones may accompany this, signalling its interest and warning all other shells to remain dormant. There are rare occasions when a single Invocate must deal with a second or third shell vibrating or even several Instruments emerging together with their single intonation. Usually, one will swiftly dominate the others and send them back. It is customary for a group of Invocates to be in the chamber. They will now vie for each wakened Instrument. This tends to be a smooth process, with each shell responding to the Invocate before them. While such scenes are rare, a group of Invocates may have to swirl around the platform where the Living Instruments stand to link with the one selecting them. There are also occasions when an Instrument does not respond to any Invocate. The Enclave
must guarantee additional shells until a link is made. Even without such drama, this process remains one of the most challenging parts of the Invocates calling.
In contrast, it is not unknown for a shell to open immediately just by scenting the approaching Invocate. Some shells are used for an ongoing task that chooses one Invocate to maintain the work over time. Once the link is established by whatever means, oils are poured over the Instrument Shell, and the intonation continues until the Instrument emerges.
Living Instrument manifests
This is the most dramatic manifestation of the Living System
outside of ‘Entering the Presence’ of a Majastas. The Instrument
is in a compressed liquid state within its shell but transforms into the open air when it emerges. It begins with the shell opening at the tip and separating into four to six equal segments that gradually spread out in a flower formation while remaining secure at the base. Brightly-coloured tendrils dart out and sweep the surrounding area during the first opening.
A sequence of low hums and other vibrating sounds issue from the creature, emitting a powerful bouquet of odours intoxicating the Invocate. The following chain of events happens in quick succession. The creature seems to spring out of its opening shell in the form of a living column composed of between six to ten glistening segments rising to a startling height, given the size of its body.
The following description is the ‘Classical Model,’ resembling the first generations of Living Instruments at the dawn of the Primary Epoch. This general portrayal groups together various common elements. A modern Living Instrument of the Secondary Epoch
may occasionally possess two or more of the following details in the sequence, but seldom all of them. While there are commonalities in formation and structure, there are many variations in the presentation this being may take. While most of the varieties function identically to each other, crafted exceptions are produced within the Queen Enclaves
for specialized tasks. These hybrids have grown large to match the increasing specialties of some Invocates. Such distinctions are beyond the ken of all, but specific branches of the Masters
steeped in Living Instrument cultivation.
Thirty to forty percent of all Living Instruments have a dark, moist bulb at the base of their opened shell covered with slightly raised and linked white rings. Of those possessing this base, another thirty percent have a set of vibrant yellow tentacles with lighter stripes that actively engage with the Invocate. This second segment may be a lighter-coloured bulb, ‘vase,’ or other rounded shape covered in an intricate pattern of raised bumps. This segment is usually the source of the Living Instrument’s ‘voice.’ Roughly half of all Instruments having this second segment also have above it a more extensive, darker and rounded ‘cushion’ form that rhythmically expands and contracts with four or thicker waving limbs.
Those possessing this third segment have most of their potent odour sources here. Between ten to fifteen percent have a fourth segment above this in the form of a brightly coloured wedge-shaped cap or, on occasion, a very dark sphere. In the Classical Model, the fifth portion forms an undulating broad crown or parasol shape, from which the sixth segment emerges. This form is common among modern Instruments but seldom associated with the other classical elements described. The final level of the Classical Model takes the form of a garish spread of tendrils with broad ends, a series of golden looped tubes, or a fan-like set of tall red fronds.
The icon
pictured here is from the Primary Epoch, long after the abovementioned Duamang Age
image. As can be seen, it varies considerably from the Classical Model just described. It is unique among Primary Epoch emblems for its ‘elongated diamond’ shape to accommodate the fully extended Living Instrument. For many generations, these extraordinary and vital beings have been seen as surpassing anything raw life
ever engendered.
The Link
Once the Instrument has sampled the juices of the Invocate
before emerging, it knows how to proceed with the link. The Uluvatu Masters
chose the sexual union as the most fundamental for the Invocate and their Living Instrument to assume for entering the Living System. Once it has fully emerged and ascertained the dimensions of the chamber they are in, along with using its tendrils to determine how many other Instruments
and Invocates are present, it immediately reaches for the Invocate, who moves to sit immediately before it. If the Invocate is male, the Instrument moves off the base of its shell, pulling itself to the Invocate and sinks his first segment on him. If its Invocate is female, it sends out a phallic extension to penetrate her. Both serve to achieve union and form the Link. If the Invocate is fortunate enough to be a Complete, the Living Instrument enters and is entered by the Invocate. Once the Link is attained, the combination of Living Instrument odours and internal juices cover the Invocate, and they sink inward. They experience a pleasant sense of falling as they move toward Tatchlan and proceed with their tasks. See the Tatchlan System section for details on the wonders they encounter while embracing their Living Instrument.
During the Invocate’s ‘Descending the Depths’ training to the fourth level, known as the Devotee Level, they cease all academic study and began a rigorous set of physical disciplines to, among other things, be able to maintain sexual tension for extended periods while within the Resplendent Work. These differ between females and males, leading to divergent duration expectations within Tatchlan. Women may continue through a series of moderate orgasms. The full and sustained climax is the doorway for the Invocate to exit Tatchlan (These climaxes are designed to be entirely separate from The Nine Petals of Pleasure). Given the nature of the work the Invocate is engaged in, it is common to follow this with a short pause before repeating the process. An abrupt separation before the process is complete may cause significant harm to both the Invocate and their Living Instrument.
Invocate Instrument Link Essential


While the Majastas, in their role as Supreme Operant, does not require a Living Instrument
to descend into the Living System, all the thousands of Invocates
within Tatchlan
at any time, be they working for one of the ministries
or on a particular assignment, are there by virtue of their Living Instruments. The Intonation, Emergence
and Link bind all parts of the Cluster-of-Clusters Nation together, opening avenues for innumerable specialized examinations and modifications of all aspects of life upon Anu.
As detailed elsewhere, Operants, as a rare manifestation of Invocate, do not require a Living Instrument to enter the Living System. While Dreamers
may also enter Tatchlan without a Living Instrument, they are passive observers only and can in no way affect their surroundings to the point that once deposited by their Dream Guides, they cannot even turn in their place. Later in the Secondary Epoch, the Danam Yelda
accessed the Living System through their Spinning Wheel
and other ecstatic Circle Dances. While this leads to a compelling collective vision, its focus is generalized and usually specific to the needs of that cluster. There is no way these gatherings can actively engage with elements as Invocates can.
Colonies


Healing Vat
This is a distinct creation
by the Koru early in the Secondary Epoch. It is seen as second only to their successful modification of the Yelda
into a Mantle-Generating
species as their most outstanding achievement. These Healing Vats
are now used in various forms by Koru, Yakku
and Yelda. The Tolku
had a less refined living product known as ‘Healing Jelly,’ which may be said to be the most basic form of the Healing Vat. The Tolku jelly was limited to topical applications such as skin injury.
The vats are far more sophisticated and robust, able to address injured internal organs. The basic form of a Healing Vat is a living skin membrane within which a jelly is composed of a colony of innumerable tiny beings. While a colony, the Vat is designated a single ‘Deep Life’ cluster member. As such, it is present at all significant cluster events. A regular vat should live for at least one century following their Mother Double’s Conclusive Offering.
In part, the vats function by augmenting the sufferer’s healing abilities. Depending on the nature of the condition, it is typical for the entire circle of eight or another group to be immersed with the patient. This is because once the vat colonies determine the issue, they can draw on the victim’s defences and those of the rest. This works best when the bodies surrounding the sufferer are familiar. Along with many intricate chemical reactions, these Healing Vats can transfer heat from fevered bodies to radiate to their surface skin. Trained cluster mates tend to this vat colony. The outer skin becomes a way of communication, where the colours, patterns and textures can be read. They can tell a skilled eye its history and immediate needs, such as imbalances and other issues. The older the vat, the more distinctive its skin texture and pattern. From the earliest Koru
Majastas, a tradition exists of each Majastas regularly laying hands on many healing vats. This honours one of the great expressions of Tatchlan
of the Secondary Epoch and continues to enhance and enliven the vat. The Yeldic
Majastas have continued this practice.
In honour of the Venerable Koru, the pro-generators of Healing Vats may see their original pyramid icons
used in all Danam Yeldic
ministries’ emblazons.
Vat Classes


All vats
move from eggs to pre-vats before branching into the classical vat or one of the three most common variations on the classical vat. These are the Enriched Vat, the Double-Ripened Vat
and the Mother Vat. These are exclusively grown in Farmer Enclaves. Rarer are the Majastas Dissolution Vats, of which sixty-four are produced after the death of a Majastas. This specialized generation is usually only seen once in a great many centuries. The Multitude Dissolution Vat
is the rarest and may only occur once in one or two Majastas Dynasties.
All Vats begin as Pre-Vats

All vats
begin as pre-vats. These commence as eggs that transform into their juvenile form, which continues until they receive their Conclusive Offering
from their Double
to become a Ripe Vat. During this time, they also may be enriched by stillbirth offerings (see Double Ripened Vats) and other dispensations, such as the occasional infusion of yellow salt from a Wum Orb.
Enriched Vat

This is usually two to four vat eggs sent by the Vat Masters
to a particular class of women. They had prepared to be Manifold, or Gem Mothers,
before their first pregnancy revealed them as Doubles. They become Gem Doubles and traditionally raise two to four pre-vats depending on which of the Eight Gems they intend to give birth to - see ‘Two to Four Rule.’


This is the original Koru
Icon
for this class. In appearance, they do not differ from the standard single egg sent to each emergent Double. This icon signifies an Enriched batch by the arrangement of four.
It is to be noted that all representations of Vat Eggs in these Ministry Icons are shown before they are placed in the hands of their receiving Double. Once they are linked, they change surface texture and other details, particularly aroma.
Double-Ripened Vat

This is a vat
that has more than one Conclusive Offering. Usually, this occurs when it is offered one or more stillborn births before or after receiving its attending Double
at her death. There are many instances when the mother(s) of the stillborn infant(s) choose or are also allowed to float in this vat during their lifetimes (Mother floating within her offspring) or be offered in full to the same vat as their young on the occasion of their death. Such vats have a portion of the mother’s name added to their own, occasionally producing extensive ‘name strings’ in front of their Double’s name.
This ‘Double-Ripened’ class may be added to any pre-Vat or Full Healing Vat. Occasionally, such vats distinguish themselves in particular work and may receive additional designations and be sought out by other clusters for specific services. These vats have a special place in all cluster
ceremonies and memorials. This is also among the most poignant ministry icons within Koru
and Yeldic
heraldry.
Mother Vat
This particular class of fertile Healing Vat generates eggs to be sent to newly-emerged Doubles. They are tended to by what is known as Manifold or Cohort Doubles. These Doubles were women who initially wished to be Gem Mothers
of Spoke Offspring.
They had Cohort Jelly up to and during their pregnancy, which combined with their latent Double capacity to produce this unique class of Double. It is standard practice for a new Cohort Double to be ceded to the Wellbeing Ministry
and to tend eight eggs, which, upon her eventual Conclusive Offering, will become what is known as a Circle of Eight
Vat or a Manifold Mother Vat. They may be sent out in pairs to enhance four existing Vat Enclaves
or remain together to find a new one.
This original Koru
icon
shows the eight eggs and the most-ancient Primary Epoch
icon for Cohort Jelly. For more on this substance, see below.
Majastas Dissolution Vat

This is a rare set of sixty-four vats
created immediately after the death of a Majastas. The body is separated into sixty-four portions and given to an equal number of vats within the Majastas Cluster. Only on this occasion do vats withhold their contents and integrate everything offered. There is no expelling of any excess. These vats are then removed in procession to the Ministry of Wellbeing’s Doubles and Vats Bureau
and their Vat Masters. Like the Mother Vats of Cohort Doubles (see immediately above), these sixty-four vats are given to exclusive egg production.
Unlike Vat Mother eggs, the produce of these Vats is not given to a new Double
to raise but are themselves fed into a variety of specialty vats. This is the only time vats are fed the eggs of other vats. As with an infant being merged with the woman who becomes a Double, these eggs are not digested but merge with the vat they enter.
The original sixty-four vats and all those receiving one of their eggs are known as Majastas Vats, containing a high concentration of the Majastas Salt.
At the time of the Dissolution Ceremony, each of these vats is marked with a sign of the portion of the Majastas body they received. This specific designation can determine which vats, possessing a particular healing sensitivity, are fed an egg from this Majastas Vat. Such hybridizations also produce potent new medicines. The effects of this single generation of sixty-four Majastas Vats are often traced for centuries. In the case of genuinely distinctive features, Vat Masters have, on occasion, been able to trace their influence far beyond subsequent Majastas’ reigns.
Multitude Dissolution Vat

This is an exceedingly rare instance of vats
fed portions of a Majastas Multitude
after their death. Given the enormous dimensions of the Majastas Multitude, the resulting number of vats far exceeds the usual sixty-four. The Wellbeing Ministry
must determine the appropriate number of recipients at the Dissolution Ceremony.
There are precedents of half or more of the Majastas Cluster’s vat population becoming Multitude Vats. While the eggs produced by these vats are beyond all comparison to Majastas Vats, themselves deeper than any other class of vats, the remaining procedures are the same, except for a broader distribution of the resulting eggs.
Such generations may occur once or twice per dynasty or more. Histories have been produced on the recorded benefits from this issue of these Multitude Vats extending many millennia after their inception.
Majastas absorbs vat
While all Majastas briefly submerge portions of their Precious Bodies in vats to enrich them, and all float after their deaths, it is rare for a living Majastas to be completely submerged. By their Healing Blood, most Majastas seldom require such treatment. Under rare circumstances, often associated with a Burning Blossom Cycle or other direful events, Majastas may find themselves needing this service. Details of what subsequently transpires, while well documented, are seldom spoken of outside of the Majastas Cluster and select ministries. All announcements are made long after the ceremony is completed.
Simply stated, during this exceptional rite, the Majastas absorb the vat. Once the Majastas is immersed, a unique set of reactions occurs inside the skin membrane as it turns red with Majastas Blood. This is the only other time known as the ‘Offering Crown,’ usually only witnessed with their
Double’s Conclusive Offering, which extends beyond the lip.
Given that this is a single body, not an entire Circle of Eight, this is another signifier of the unique nature of this event. These manifestations are followed by the outer body wavering before shrinking to form the contours of the one inside it. Depending on the circumstances and malady ailing the Majastas, this astonishing transmutation may take place over a brief to an extended period. Once complete, all that remains is the Majastas, now covered in a glistening red coating that gradually diminishes to reveal a more extensive, rounder body. Tradition dictates a larger set of vestments as what they wore before will no longer fit. In a few cases, particularly with Majastas Betweens, they may now commence the process of growing into Giants over the following decade. In time, all residue of the vat sinks beneath the surface of the sleek new skin of the Majastas.
Numerous instances of this novel event occur with the Koru Majastas' first dynasties before the Danam Yelda's emergence and the generation of their Mantle. Only the most ancient and venerable of vats, often possessing specialties deemed needful for this unique situation, are chosen for this honour.
Vat Masters

These specialized clusters serve the Doubles and Vats Bureau of the Wellbeing Ministry within Farmer Enclaves. Their primary use is in the sheltering and nurturance of Cohort Doubles and their pre-vats, followed by subsequent generations tending to the Ripened Mother Vats and the timely distribution of their eggs to new Doubles. In addition to the precious Egg, other materials are sent, including an ornate glass cylinder containing a small quantity of Phantasm Spume for eventual use in the Double’s Conclusive Offering.
Elder Doubles within Farmer Enclaves, superintending this work and directing multiple initiatives, are given the title Pomona Elders. This is to honour the ancient Koru Pomona Clusters who brought the first Healing Vats into being during The Interim. In a single generation, many Operants and Doubles dwelling within Mount Rongu’s Chandara Grotto compressed the work of millennia into their fleeting lifespans to bring this new wonder to Anu. As such, this is seen as one of the deepest attainments of the Koru, profoundly impacting all future generations.
When the Farmer Enclave
reaches an optimum population of Mother Vats, new generations are seeded, either in groups of two or four, to other Enclaves or form the nucleus of a new Farmer Enclave. These Pomona Vat Masters also oversee the health and development of the primary stocks, specialized vats and the refinement and hybridization of new breeds of vat. These include the nurseries where eggs are generated. Their work is founded on exceptional vats that enrich and augment a large body of regular vats in various ways.
Vat Masters employ Mother Vat eggs during emergencies
On rare occasions, the Wellbeing Ministry is called on to address unusual circumstances within a cluster's Double and Healing Vat population. One such crisis is when a Double dies some distance away and cannot be returned in time, or her body is severely damaged or lost. Her customary Conclusive Offering to her Vat must be overseen by Vat Masters using what are termed ‘neutral’ eggs from Mother Vats. Such eggs may be produced quickly within their Farmer Enclaves, expediting their arrival to the affected cluster. Blood offerings of all or most members of her Circle-of-Eight and as many Maja and other Spokes of the Cluster Wheel of the deceased Double's cluster as possible are immediately fed to these eggs before they take the place of the missing body in the offering. This is an intricate operation. Great care is taken in the work and how it affects the cluster.
Healing Vat and Blood

One of the vital functions of vats is stopping bleeding. The colony responds immediately to the presence of blood. It moves to close the wounds while consuming and replicating what blood escaped into the colony. As needed, the vat
colony nurses on a portion (see Blood Endowments) while replicating aspects of the blood. It then feeds it back into the body to replace what has been lost. When the rest of the circle
is submerged, the colony may also draw small amounts of blood or the clear juice of the blood from one or more of the others through their skin to assist in the replacement of lost blood. In the case of broken bones, this is a lengthy process, and those attending the vats have procedures to help fortify the vat so as not to draw too heavily on the other circle mates. There are tales of the rest of the circle choosing to lose a portion of their bone mass to assist the sufferer.
Pre-Vats and Stillbirths

Pre-vats
have a particular office to perform during the tragedy of a stillbirth. This is entirely separate from their regular reception of the ‘Blood Endowment’ after a healthy birth. The infant’s presentation is seen as an early version of the Conclusive Offering
and is treated with a special ceremony. While pre-adults
and Ripe Adults
who die are commonly planted (within the loam, a Bowvow Tree
or Hungry Rock) at death, a stillborn is fed to the pre-vat for the cluster’s benefit. It is then expected the grieving circle will form a special bond with the Double
and her pre-vat. The vat usually takes an additional name, composed of the first syllable of the mother’s given name, creating what is known as the vat’s ‘formal’ name, which can grow into long ‘name strings’ if she ingests many stillborns. In common usage, the vat continues to be known by her Double given name alone.
Once the infant is absorbed, the mother may touch the pre-vat with the Double. She will always have a different level of familiarity with the vat than her attending Double, but she often assists, and a deep link can form between the two women and the pre-vat. It is said that if the mother floats in the ripened vat, she is recognized and tended with particular care. The familiar term for this is the ‘Mother floating within her offspring.’ There are occasions when the mother has served the Double and then the ripened Vat, such that when she dies, the cluster chooses to feed her fully to the Vat as well. These vats, regardless of how many times this might happen, are known as ‘Double Ripened.’
Vat’s as Anu quake warnings

The vat, being mostly liquid, is sensitive to movement around it. Very early in its formation, the Koru
discovered how a vat could sense the subtle changes within Anu
before a tremor and developed ways to increase this sensitivity. They attach a ring of bells near the upper lip, and when they sense a possible quake, they shake themselves enough to ring the bells and sound the warning. In emergencies, vats have been known to tolerate several men picking them up to carry them to safety.
Vat Circle

This is an unusual formation of linked vats for treating rare or dangerous illnesses. The vat containing the floating circle or individual signals the need for additional vats. These are brought to stand in a circle around the affected vat. Only at these times do flesh tubes issue out of the base of each vat to link with the troubled one and share in the healing process by increasing the capacity of the vat, augmenting the single vat’s labours. If the infection is too strong, the other vats will disengage, and the vat and its occupants must either prevail or die.


Salt Vats

This is a common term for the breed of vats found on the ships of Kudurapala of Koru Yelda. These vats are adapted to live on boats sailing turbulent seas, and their diet includes plants and animals from the ocean. They are known to exude the excess salt from their bodies. This is collected in large compacted balls and is prized for its unique refinement and seasoning.
This is the only time the pre-vat issue is valued nearly as much as a ripened vat. This has led to a distinct branch of Vat Masters
with their traditions and feeding formula. Since keeping traditional Shesha creatures and Nara plants is very difficult on sailing vessels, alternative arrangements include regular importation of Sheshenara and substituting other foods more suited to life aboard a ship.
Acoon
This is also known by many names, including ‘Comfort,’ ‘Nurse,’ and ‘Treasured Delight.’ These accolades are entirely due to its transformation within the Living System. In its original raw state, it held a suite of potent juices ranging from intense Vision Windows
to poisons ranking beside the deadly hairs of the Toohund. As seen below, its feeding habits are not unlike the Bowvow Tree. The Acoon had continually inhabited the jungles of central Statos-Vey
and Southern Rho-Jashun. There are most-ancient references to their presence at one time in southeastern Thermistal, but no longer.
Unlike the Toohund, the Acoon was located within Tatchlan
early in the Primary Epoch
and possessed a steady presence. The Tolku
long laboured on this complex entity to transmute what is known as the ‘Acoon Nostrum’ into potent medicines. The Koru
of the Secondary Epoch
continued the work, seeing the Acoon as exhibiting a unique potential to heal on multiple levels.
It took the renowned Yeldic Majastas Multitude Sheshisana X, who Honoured Historians
now confirm was also a ‘Genius of Unplumbed Depths’
of the Cluster-of-Cluster Nation’s
Living Jewels classification, to gather the many threads of generational work and weave them into a radically different form to remodel this fascinating being into the wonder it is today.
She completed this while attending the eighty-nine thousandth anniversary of the creation of Healing Vats
within Mount Rongu’s Chandara Grotto
on Rho-Jashun, earning Her the extolment ‘Mother of all Acoons.’ Three centuries later, in Her honour, She would add a vital segment to the ongoing Generational Plan
of the Upata Bulbs
named Shashash. These are far from the only accomplishments of this exemplary Majastas Multitude. Near four Aeons
later, Majastas Complete
Bakasha-Duta II, perhaps one of the most exceptionally beautiful Danam-Yeldic Majastas Completes, possessed what came to be known as ‘Acoon Blood.’ Shehe became the first of a select few Majastas Completes enriching generations of Acoons in their unique ways.
This blue/green creature is unique, with no known surviving relative from the Primary Epoch. Its body structure is deceptively simple. It presents a tall, thick green tube with a single slime foot at the base and a dark crown of petals forming a large blossom formation. This crown can change shape and orientation to form shade or other protection. The Acoon’s tough outer hide is covered in raised buds that serve as air holes. When it exhales, it may exude clear air, toxic odours or intoxicating attractive aromas, according to its circumstance. It has been reported that these toxic exhalations could severely sicken or even kill an adult Suvuka
or a pack of Thymas
attacking it.
While its enticing aromas are used for attracting mates, they are best known for luring its prey. Along with scent, the Acoon emits a wide range of calming and soothing tones that beguile the ears. Once the creature is near, the Acoon displays its most startling feature. The middle separates and opens in a wide gap at the top and bottom of the being. This releases what is known as the ‘Nostrum Bouquet,’ a fine spray filling the air around it. The inner lining of this gap is filled with many tentacles laced with the Acoon Nostrum. Their circular movements titillate and engorge the senses while delivering their mesmerizing medicines. The prey is drawn into the enclosure, where they are enveloped and intoxicated. Then, the gap closes, and the occupant is consumed.
Throughout the Primary
and Secondary
Epochs, the Acoon fascinated many with its unique place among other animals. Despite the Acoon being a predator, many creatures are attracted to it and serve as defenders. Several creatures have a symbiotic relationship with the Acoon, which is ever attended to by devotees who have been observed assisting it in entrapping prey. Not surprisingly, they are surrounded by hundreds of Thethelem, engorging themselves on its powerful aromas. However, this is one of the rare occasions where they are sufficiently surfeited to leave and go dormant after a day. Like Bowvow Trees, the Acoon serves as a protector, allowing some to stay close while enemies dare not draw too near. It also benefits some beings who, due to impending starvation, illness or injury, appear to seek them out to find a sweet ending within its gap.
Sheshenara Nectar
This is the result of generations of early Tatchlan Masters working with the Nara Plant
and the creature known as Shesha. The plant’s fruit is pulverized and fed to the Shesha, who transforms it into Sheshenara, a potent soup filled with minuscule agents serving Tatchlan. Diluted versions were given to girls and young women. Pure distillations were given to pregnant women. Over generations, these women gave birth to increasingly healthy and long-lived Tolku. What the Masters knew is that each generation was also building towards the final goal of a Cluster-of-Clusters Nation. They monitored each new generation and adjusted the potency and dosage to produce all the Spokes of the Cluster Wheel
and, ultimately, a Majastas. There is some evidence within the Living System that The Killing Swath
slightly altered Sheshenara. It is speculated this contributed to a specific set of changes from Tolku to Koru
generations after the Primary Epoch’s demise.
This Primary Epoch Icon shows the traditional cup for serving Sheshenara to young girls. Inside the cup sits an arranged pile of ripe Nara fruit infused with the striking eye of the Shesha who transforms it. As such, this symbolizes the vital fluid fashioned by these two different living entities. The fruit is crushed before being offered to the Shesha, and the effusion of the Shesha fills the cup.
This is a distinct Living Instrument from the much later creation known as Shashelvan.
Cohort Jelly

This is one of the few living colonies to remain unchanged from the Primary Epoch. Refugees from the Killing Swath
successfully secured batches before entering Mount Chraxan, ensuring the life of this Tolku
wonder never suffered interruption during those terrible events.
Elders
have always used Cohort Jelly to bring about the birth of specific Spokes of the Cluster Wheel, ensuring their Spoke Cohort
continued through the generations. The Jelly is consumed in particular amounts by the mothers, be they intended Gem Mothers
or otherwise, and members of the existing Spoke needing future heirs.
When the Cohort Flush possesses both, they copulate at least four times to ensure the jelly essence from each body interacts.
The flush recedes in the mother when this is successful, and the cluster may expect the birth of one or more infants possessing this manifestation of the Living System
to be born in due course. Cohort Jelly is the preserve of the Ratio Bureau
of the Wellbeing Ministry within their Farmer Enclaves, which distributes it in allotted portions to clusters upon being advised by the cluster’s Elders. Pictured here is the most-ancient emblem of Cohort Jelly, showing each of the grades and the manifold births resulting from their employment.
Shashelvan
This was a vital juice initially distilled from the body of Majastas Multitude Sheshisana X
(88,539 to 90,324 UKC). This Majastas Multitude, the Mother of all Acoons, is magnified with more loving masterpieces of art, music, literature and theatre and holds the record for the most panegyric compositions in Her honour of any Majastas
in Danam Yeldic
Cluster-of-Cluster
history.
Three centuries after her completion of the Acoon, Her unique chemistry allowed many issues to be resolved with the Upata, the early life form fashioned by the ancient Majastas Complete Upata-Shepsus IV. She held the tiny buds in Her Hand and exuded liquids for them to feed on. She then emitted large quantities of this precious liquid, composed of self-sustaining infinitesimals that could be integrated into the Upata, allowing for significant evolvement.
Ultimately, after further modifications within Tatchlan
by both Yeldic and Koru Majastas, this could become the Upata Bulb
of the Emaxul Age
of all classes of Yelda and the Koru, allowing for a living enclosure for clusters and a shelter for the Yelda against the Burning Blossom. The formation of this transformative liquid is now seen as the second step in the Long History of Upata Development.


Plants
Tuchus
Tuchus
is a phosphorescent vine serving as soft illumination deep within Koru Living Mountains
and later their Deep Domains. Along with prosaic passageway illuminations, these vines are vehicles for many creative displays, especially on high ceilings. It is common for a wide variety of artful configurations to fill these substantial interior spaces. These may range from detailed reproductions of famous art and historical events to favourite night sky constellations. They also commonly employ Siliam
and Queldeday
to identify details and focus on key features in these large roof compositions.
The Tuchus vine is hardy and adaptable and is found in various uncultivated environments. A little-known fact is that a raw version
of this vine was discovered within the Viracocha
forests during the Primary Epoch. While the Tolku
depended less on them for illumination than the Koru
of the Secondary Epoch, they did modify and use them in their interiors. The Koru rediscovered them within their Sanctuaries
during The Interim
and made additional refinements.
After encountering the Yakku, the Koru make a gift of this vine during their Happy Century.
This strain of Tuchus is now extensively used within the Yakku Collective, seamlessly blending with their other forest flora. Most Yakku are now innocent of their original gift from the Koru.
Larpana
A very early sign of the Primary (first generations of) Tatchlan Master’s success was the perfection of the Larpana. It was noted that this hardy plant was very attuned to the progress of Nu. Its upper leaves and whole stem would change colour and pattern depending on how close it was to Nu's rise and how far through his circuit Nu was in the day. The lower leaves usually do not change colour at all. While clouds or other weather impeding Nu’s Eye do not disrupt these patterns, it must have access to a measure open sky. If the plant is shut indoors for over a few days, it will turn a dull brown or grey until exposed again. When exposed to Nu, it will quickly change to the same colour as those Larpana left out. If the plant is brought out at night, it usually cannot match the time until the following dawn, although some plants have been known to align themselves if one or more of the moons are full.
The Tolku
Masters long studied this plant and, over time, worked to further regulate its display into two accurate sixteen-hour cycles, one for the day and the other for the night. Reference to this work by the early Tatchlan Masters is made in the first novel of this series, ‘Hesha Vira's Challenge,’ with regard to the anti-Tatchlan critic Nallurakon, who for a time was involved with this extended work on the Larpana.
When the Masters finished their work, they fortified the plant to exist far beyond its original habitat and modified its display to two alternating phases. The first hour is marked by a slight change in colour with significant patterns and distinctive coloration to the leaf’s veins. The second hour is marked by a more robust version of this colour, with the design replaced by a contrasting border to each leaf. While usually quite dark, this border may be bright to contrast with a leaf of a very dark shade. The third hour begins with a new colour in its light phase and notable patterning, so the cycle continues. The primary difference between day and night hours is that the patterning and border take on a near-black intensity at night.
The Larpana were rescued after The Killing Swath
by the early Koru
and during The Interim. They are now of the first Rank of their Recovered Ones, the ‘Converted: Larpana.’ Despite the Koru being nocturnal, they maintained the original Tolku naming and ordering of the hours. The Yelda
employ the system as the Foremost Ones
in its original day and night cycles.
Day Cycle
First hour (Hour of Nu Opening): pale yellow with dark yellow veins and patterning.
Second hour (Nu Cuts): deep yellow with orange border.
Third hour (Nu Dispels): pale orange with deep orange patterning.
Fourth hour (Nu Burnishes): deep orange with pale blue borders.
Fifth hour (Nu Sails): pale blue with extensive dark blue patterning.
Sixth hour (Nu Strides): deep blue leaves with a red border.
Seventh hour (Nu Flies): pale red with extensive deep red patterning.
Eighth hour (Nu Enthroned): deep red with a pale blue border.
Ninth hour (Nu Wanders): pale green with extensive deep green patterning.
Tenth hour (Nu Trembles): deep green with purple veins and patterns.
Eleventh hour (Nu Slows): pale purple with deep purple patterning.
Twelfth hour (Nu Gathers): deep purple with light rose/peach veins and patterns.
Thirteenth hour (Nu Descends): pale rose/peach with deeper coloration patterning.
Fourteenth hour (Nu Stares in your Eye): deep rose/peach with white border.
Fifteenth hour (Nu Burns Clouds): pale white with grey patterning
Sixteenth hour (Nu Closes): deep white with deep grey border.
During the sixteen-night hours, the Larpana plant repeats the cycle with strong accents on the stems and fringes of the leaves. These are called by the traditional names for each hour of the day.
Night Cycle
Seventeenth hour (Hour of the first moon - Xica Nu): Pale yellow with strong black accents.
Eighteenth Hour (Winking Eyes): – deep yellow with black outline.
Nineteenth hour (Hour of Relief): – pale orange with dark blue patterning.
(Koru: auspicious time for greeting guests and conducting business)
Twentieth hour (Hour of Honour): – deep orange with a dark green border.
Twenty-First hour (Hour of Measurement): pale blue with black pattern.
Twenty-Second hour (Second Moon – Lya Nu): blue with black outline.
Twenty-Third hour (Hour of Burning Eyes): pale red with a dark green pattern.
Twenty-Fourth hour (Hour of Solace): deep red with a light blue border.
Twenty-Fifth hour (Falling Eyes): pale green with black patterning.
Twenty-Sixth hour (Hour of Restoration): deep green with light red borders.
Twenty-Seventh hour (Third Moon – Myka Nu): pale purple with black patterns.
Twenty-Eighth hour (Dancing Eyes): deep purple with black borders.
Twenty-Ninth hour (Hour of Nobility): pale rose/peach with black patterns.
Thirtieth hour (Hour of Elegance): deep rose/peach with dark green borders.
Thirty-First hour (Vanishing Eyes): pale pink with black patterns.
Thirty-Second hour (Fourth Moon – Bekma Nu): deep white with black borders.
The early Tatchlan Masters
further augmented its display so that throughout the day and night, regardless of its hour colour and pattern, it also cycled through a distinctive series of markings on its leaves every thirty minutes. Later, Majastas
were concerned by the tendency to over-regulate by time, as with the ancient time towers. Hence, they muted this ability to indicate anything less than a half hour. The augmented Larpana’s accuracy is well documented over its life, which can extend to fifty years. Keeping three plants of different ages together is standard to ensure the general time. It displays an atypical pattern when it is ill or near death and can no longer be used. The Larpana is highly accurate for local time. It can only be a general indicator of times beyond the locale, and charts must be consulted to determine the time in other regions experiencing Nu’s
setting and rising earlier or later to the local time.
Signs of a coming Burning Blossom
Before a new Burning Blossom cycle, the plant shows a dramatic increase in patterning at all phases. As such, the plant may predict the imminent arrival of a complete Rainbow Emanation Cycle
several two weeks in advance. As these Cycles have continued and grown stronger through successive millennia, this calamity has impacted the entire plant rotation and led to extensive work within the Living System
along with practical measures taken on the surface to limit exposure. Given that the plant must be presented to Nu
for at least one hour per day, many forms of shading have been used to limit harm. Setting them out at first dawn and last dusk remains possible with minor damage. Given the devastation to other plant life, they show remarkable resilience to this disaster from above.
Nara
This plant
was of modest dimensions before the Primary Epoch, when it grew to near the height of an adult male Tolku. It has large purple leaves with green veins. The flowers are broad and dark red and blue; the fruit forms a series of radiating long pods from the top of the plant. As they fill with potent liquid, the stems bend outward to form the distinctive canopy over the plant before the fruit is released. When linked with Shesha, this is known as the ‘Upper Canopy.’ The fruit contained many critical medicinal qualities and laid the foundation for all healing arts. While many of its fundamental characteristics remained, the Koru
and Yelda
have further modified the Nara to serve Tatchlan. It grows to great heights, and its fruit is huge and far more potent. Its fertility cycles are ongoing, with new generations of fruit rising as the old ones fall. It is usually cultivated so that all its lower limbs hang with Shesha, who continually processes the juice of the Nara fruit. This is a Recovered One
from the Primary Epoch.
Animals
Cousins
Next to the Tolku
of the Primary Epoch
and the heirs
in the Secondary Epoch, the most modified and improved beings are the Cousins. They have a separate section, which may be reached here.
Shesha
Within raw life, this was a simple predatory creature
living high in the jungle canopy. It roots itself into a branch and hangs down. Its long body forms a tough hide similar to the bark of a tree. Its colouring is mottled shades of dark green and brown for camouflage. It has four eyes, two on either side, that remain closed until disturbed, then they pop open suddenly. At the bottom, it spreads out a wide membrane in a glistening bowl covered in deadly hairs. At the base of the bowl, directly under the main body, it exudes intense nectar, filling the air around it. While many insects and small creatures can occasionally fly unharmed in and sup on the nectar, all animals are in danger. The tiny upturned hairs lining the bowl contain a potent toxin, and anything touching them is stung. The membrane then wraps around the food and draws it into the mouth. Once it is in the mouth if it is a large item, the membrane contracts and forms a ball to seal the mouth. While it has eyes, its primary sensors are its arms, which are sensitive to any movement within its membrane.
Prehistoric Tolku
watched how the Asaku
and Mayku
tricked the Shesha
with various ingenious tools and strategies and drank its nectar. Like their little cousins, they did likewise and found the nectar filled them with intense delight. They observed how the Shesha drank rainwater trapped in the bowl and would consume any liquid they poured into it. Once they had consumed their meal, they would transform it and regurgitate a new brew to fill the bowl. The nature of its new batch of nectar was based on its last meal. The Tolku long experimented with supplementing the Shesha’s diet with many elements to see the results.
When they poured the juice of the Nara Fruit
into it, the resulting change laid the foundations of Tatchlan. While unprocessed Nara Juice was a healer, Nara Juice processed and exuded by the Shesha became Sheshenara, the first gateway into the foundations of life and the beginning of Tatchlan. When attached to a Nara tree and their bodies distended with Nara Juice, these Shesha with their curved bowls are known as the ‘Lower Canopy.’ This image has led to the common phrase of well-being, “My Upper and Lower Canopy are filled.”
This Primary Epoch Icon
shows the Shesha with a recognizable Nara fruit in its bowl. In life, a Shesha would not be able to consume such an item but readily sucks up pulverized Nara fruit.
Vima
This six-legged creature
is a well-known example of Recovered Ones
in the Secondary Epoch. Completely modelled to serve a wide variety of needs for the Tolku
throughout the Primary Epoch, this species originally contained eight branches of related creatures, ranging in size from a small Asaku
to an adult Pathuda. Despite the large class size, they can bear heavy burdens, but adult Koru seldom rides them. These different members of the Vima family were tailored to perform various services.
Unlike the considerable population of domesticated Suvuka, a small number of all eight classes survived the Killing Swath. They were rescued by the last surviving Tolku Guardians during the initial migration to the Sanctuaries. It is said what would later be known as ‘The First Generation’ of survivors, who would eventually become Koru, counted the Vima amongst their initial gems of recovery. It appears their first service was to provide comfort and give a sense of hope many Primary Epoch Attainments
could be salvaged.
Like most survivors, the Vima underwent many changes due to the catastrophe and its aftermath. Like the emerging Koru, the Vima appear to have remodelled themselves to live a nocturnal existence with their Koru beneath the mountains, leading some to characterize this as their version of The Change. Over time, the original eight classes multiplied into sixteen, making them the most specialized and hybridized of The Recovered Ones. These classes range in size, along with an abundance of, or complete lack of, hair and other features suitable to their uses. These Sixteen Vima Classes are integral to the Koru’s Cluster-of-Clusters Nation, occupying central niches of nearly every aspect of Koru life. As such, they are bonded to the Koru to the extent they will not respond to any other being, with the grudging exception of Sumudin Yelda. Despite the Sumudin living the complete Koru life, the Vima are cool toward them.
All Sixteen Classes share some standard features. Their ears are trumpet-shaped, standing on either side of their broad heads. Their eyes are enormous for their faces. Their snouts are sufficiently long and mobile to be called short trunks, and their nostrils are quite pronounced. They have an articulated spine, allowing them to turn to meet their behind and fold front to back. They possess six limbs. The hind pair is sturdy, with a solid paw bearing no digits. The middle limbs end in six toes that can grasp and carry items. The front pair resembles the back, although smaller. They adopt a distinctive undulating gallop when running, allowing each pair of legs to propel them forward while the other two remain in the air.


This Koru icon
of the Vima is amongst the earliest known. It is unique in several ways, including showing the creature from above. Only newborns and tiny infants could fit in the palm of a Koru hand. This image is seen as symbolic of their complete integration into the Koru White Hand. It is most unusual for any Koru icon to show a life oriented upwards. The fact that the Vima faces up indicates their complete bonding to their Mother Koru.
Takshakutan
This is a tiny creature
living in the liquids of the deep blossoms of the Taya Vine, common in the tropics of all continents. They form large networks between many trees, creating a unique environment. Their flowers are long, deep and upright to collect rainwater. This is gradually changed with the plant's juices to form a unique liquid to attract insects. The Takshakutan has a symbiotic relationship with the vine. The vine provides it with its environment, and the creature protects it from predators attacking the flower. The Takshakutan possesses the unique ability to transmute poisons into equally potent medicines. Generations of Uluvatu Masters
could domesticate the creature and move it to new environments. They fortified their abilities to transmute all poisons and other harmful liquids into powerful drugs able to serve many ills and provide robust Vision Windows. Perhaps its most significant work was transmuting venereal diseases into what is collectively called Lascivious/Voluptuous Gains
(see also below), able to provide the final stage for the wakening of the entire Tatchlan System
at the beginning of the Primary Epoch.
After being ‘Recovered’ by the early Koru
during The Interim, they refined the creature to serve as a stimulus for their new creation, the Healing Vats. They continually perfect the tiny being and send new generations to all clusters. These creatures are introduced to their Healing Vats. For a time, the creature takes up floating residence within the vat; it grows and blossoms with many fan-like appendages. Then, the vat consumes it, incorporating its refined transmuting abilities. Once the Conclusive Offering
wakes a vat, Takshakutans are sent in a series to bring the vat up to the current level of power. After that, new versions of the creature are sent at a rate of one or two a year. Under certain circumstances, the Takshakutan may be introduced into the Double
just before her Conclusive Offering for specific results or to magnify essential qualities in the Double, Vat or Takshakutan itself. Due to these Recovered Ones'
noble services, they have been given the rank of Converted.
This icon
comes from early in the Primary Epoch, one of a few depicting an action instead of an entity. This is not what the Takshakutan looks like but depicts what it does. In the upper void resides the original raw toxic life; in the lower blood ocean is the transmuted being, a mirror image that is now not only excellent but potent medicine.
Lascivious Gains
Also named Voluptuous and Erotic Gains, this general title refers to a host of formerly malignant entities that crippled or killed innumerable Tolku
throughout prehistory and the pre-Tatchlan
ages via sexual congress. These venereal diseases were seen as a profound barrier to the Uluvatu Masters
to realizing their goals of an eventual Cluster-of-Clusters Nation. Thus, they were intensively studied within the Living System
before their pacification via various means, including the employment of Takshakutan
(see above) to transmute their hate into love. Their dissolution and reconstruction was a very early victory within a generation of the first Tolku Majastas. It is now seen as one of the final achievements of the Duamang Age.
As a result of this work, Lascivious Gains became vital in building the Tatchlan System within young and mature bodies and assisting with some common issues associated with advancing age. They enhanced many aspects of Sensitive’s range and laid the foundations for subsequent growth in the next generation.
They became vital tools in the perfection of the Spokes of the Cluster Wheel
and enhanced the mental abilities of Mundanes. For all these reasons and more, they have always been welcomed and treated as ‘Gains.’
Pictured here is one of the earliest Primary Epoch
Icons
meant to be the official emblem for Lascivious Gains. While there is no doubt as to its intended meaning, it remains something of a mystery. Known to have been fashioned in the first decades of the first Tolku Majastas, the meaning of this most-ancient symbol has been lost. Despite Lascivious Gains’ primary role in laying the foundations of both the Primary
and Secondary Epoch, the significance of these elements, which, like the Takshakutan icon above, do not in any way resemble the entity or, in this case, many very different infinitesimal entities, are no longer understood. They were presumed well-known during the Primary Epoch; any written explanation was deemed unnecessary. Various interpretations have been made throughout the Secondary Epoch by both Koru
and Yelda, but given there are no surviving Primary Epoch references to consult, all remain speculative.
Krall
Living within large flocks capable of extraordinary mass displays, these birds habituated waterways and seashores in their raw state. The Tolku Masters
significantly modified them for Tatchlan
long before The Greater Era
of the Primary Epoch, in particular, to serve as ‘eyes’ for others to see events at great distances. Their eyes appear as oblong winged windows within Tatchlan. By approaching and looking through these ‘Eye Windows,’ they can, with time and skill, see what a select group of Krall is. The Majastas
alone may bring these Eyes together and simultaneously look at what the Krall see everywhere on Anu.
In modern times, powerful and skilled Operants
can distinguish any dominating trends through these Eye Windows, and direct birds to specific locations. The reigning Majastas may pull visions from particular areas to view what takes place anywhere on the Skin of Anu
and may move entire flocks. The Majastas can also form ‘one mind’ and direct large groups to perform specific tasks.
Their icon is another example of a very early Primary Epoch working. It displays a symbolic narrative of their being winged Eyes with the Majastas Eye guiding them at their core. This emphasizes how powerful and central a tool they were for the most-ancient Tolku and modern Koru and Yelda. How the Krall manifests within Tatchlan is somewhat different, being an oblong disk with a green wing attached at either end—hundreds of these float in slow circles within the Living System. Any Operant and many senior Invocates, skilled in their use, may seek out distant happenings with them.
Krall in History
Working during the Lesser Era
of the Primary Epoch, the Uluvatu Masters
on Statos-Vey, by diverse living means, finally discovered the imminent threat of the Suvuka. Through Krall Eye Windows, they witnessed their crossing onto ‘The Crown,’ as the Huallapandu Headlands
are better known in Northern Rho-Jashun. Within the Living System, they could relate this shocking revelation to their comrades remaining in Thithanu. These Rho-Jashun Primary Masters already knew other signs of a disturbance in the north. They now sent tiny Asaku
through the trees and additional flocks of Krall
far beyond all Tolku
settlements. What had been small groups of roaring beasts were now a terrible horde in the frozen wastes of the Huallapandu Headlands. Upon seeing the true nature of the danger, the last Tatchlan Masters of the Lesser Era sounded the alarm and began their final withdrawal from Rho-Jashun well ahead of the First Suvuka Onslaught. At the same time, the Uluvatu Masters declared an emergency for all on Statos-Vey. A popular drama shows the Asaku riding on the Krall’s backs into the North. While this motif is repeated in many popular venues, there is no evidence of this taking place.
While the Krall may be classed as Recovered Ones, it is now thought they received deep conditioning before the Killing Swath and immediately began to aid survivors after the Primary Epoch fell. They share this distinction with the Cousins as ‘crossover servants.’ Very early accounts of them working together to assist and defend the last Tolku and first Koru. They were invaluable to the Fourth Generation
of Guardians as providing ‘Eyes’ for surveying terrain ahead of and during dangerous excisions to recover Primary Epoch Attainments. While they rose in esteem among the Koru, the Yakku, with their growing aversion
to Tatchlan, distrusted them as they did the Varku and would not employ them.
Ninusay Web
This is a powerful elongated being, a distant relation to the Sivist, living along both fresh water and seashores. It creates lateral solid links between rocks and other inert objects and creates a web allowing for the extension of the shore in shallow areas. The Foremost Ones
of the Primary Epoch
modified them to serve the distinctive function of linking together many ships at sea to create a robust and flexible web to protect a fleet during inclement weather.
During the Secondary Epoch, they are employed extensively by the Kudurapala, the Koru Yelda, who primarily live in clusters
sailing all the seas of Anu. It is not uncommon for them to have one or more Ninusay wrapped around each of their ships, and when meeting any number of challenges, deploy them to reach out to each other to form a firm but flexible web securing the entire fleet.
This icon predates the Primary Epoch border
it sits in. The presence of the Blue Star
suggests it was initially formulated during the Yin-Vinulan Dynasty of pre-Tatchlan times. This is more evidence of the Blue Star's antiquity, now the Danam Yelda's
emblem; this image harkens back to antiquity long before the Yelda, or even their Mother Koru, existed. The image depicts three ships held together by a simple Web. It usually is more like eight to twelve ships linked in formation by as many or more Ninusay working in concert to provide a stabilizing force for that portion of the fleet.
Vilates
During the late ages of the Funomanru Dynasty
of the Lesser Era
of the Primary Epoch, growing salinization of the soil became an increasing issue. This was due to intensive agriculture and repeated irrigation necessary to grow Charsha
over fifteen hundred to two thousand years or more. The later Buyanupithar Dynasty
encountered the same issue with both Charsha and Salarish. Crop rotation and other techniques had a limited effect as the harmful mineral buildup continued. It was not until the advent of Tatchlan and skilled Masters
of the Living System that the issue was resolved.
Vilate is a tiny worm species native to the salt marshes and river deltas found near all oceans. What distinguished it was its propensity to consume a measure of salt. It also pushed any excess to the surface during its comings and goings. This is also seen as a form of soil maintenance to ensure optimum conditions for their survival. These crystals would form characteristic piles. Any Vilate encountering one of their dead will push the body, filled with salt residue, up to the surface, where it dries before blowing away on the wind. The salt residue again filers out of the body, leaving a small collection of crystals on the surface.
Operates
and Invocates
of the early Tolku
Cluster-of-Cluster Nation
had only minor modifications to this simple creature within Tatchlan
to prepare it for planting in inland fields. There, they avidly fed on and pushed up their piles of salt crystals, thus improving agricultural land long thought beyond use for generations in a single season. Care was taken to go out and gather up the tiny piles as soon as they manifested before any rains could dissolve them. Given the tremendous antiquity of nearly all arable land, particularly on Rho-Jashun
and Statos-Vey, Vilates are now incorporated into the suite of permanent agricultural fauna throughout these vast regions. Thermistal, and in particular the Lake Teval Basin, was only brought under cultivation in very recent times, and they have yet to be needed.
Dry Vilates
Different growing conditions necessitated further refinements. These initial modifications were sufficient for Salarish
fields and various other cereals, along with Fecund Farms, which are relatively dry for much of their growing season. This first branch is known as Dry Vilates. Autumn Season
saw the introduction of these populations, and usually, the most abundant harvest of salt took place before the commencement of the following Spring Season. Given that these initiatives are now ongoing, every decade, new populations are introduced unless it appears more timely infusions are required. Over time, rural clusters
developed various ingenious techniques to efficiently collect the small salt mounds as part of their yearly crop maintenance. This residue was refined and used in food seasoning and many scouring applications.
Wet Vilates
The characteristic Charsha and other wet crops and terraced fields required a different creature and set of techniques. These plots had to be completely drained and allowed to settle for an entire season. A characteristic shelter with a broad and sloping roof and deep retaining walls was built to minimize rainwater and runoff from affecting the site and reduce salt escaping into surrounding allotments. The following year, the later innovation of Wet Vilates was introduced into the beds. The resulting activity significantly churned up these plots, allowing various tasks to improve the soil. Due to the saturated nature of this environment, Wet Vilates throw up far more substantial quantities of minerals in dramatic fashion than their Dry counterparts. They also delve deeper than either dry or raw
Vilates and, in the process, uproot some perennial pests otherwise challenging to dislodge. Wet Vilates have a truncated life cycle and die away from themselves after roughly two years of work. Elaborate engineering is necessary to complete this closure and treatment of individual beds, usually linked in long series extending through gentle or dramatic terraces. This process is both far more intensive and thorough than employing Dry Vilates. For this reason, twenty-five years go by before they are used in a specific allotment again.
The above Primary Epoch icon
shows the original raw Vilate from the side, pushing salt particles up to the surface where they form their tiny mounds ready for collection.


Plants/Animals
Siliam
Siliam
is perhaps one of the most distinctive of Koru
Living Instruments. Originally denizens of the interiors of mountains, they were nurtured early in the chaotic period after the Killing Swath
by the last generations of Tolku. In many ways similar to the Thethelem, they are small, translucent, light-as-air beings with a distinctive star-shaped body that coasts in small flocks through underground passageways, feeding on rock growths and other life to the benefit of the first Koru. Their main attribute is a natural phosphorescence that rivals the power of the airborne Tapu. Given their interior habitat, this produces a solid general illumination.
Using Sheshenara and other Living Instruments and manipulation within the Living System, the Koru modified the Siliam to grow in size and become vital travelling lights within the mountains. They now allow themselves to go dormant within storage pouches to be carried and released in dark places to light the way.
They join the stationary Tuchus Vines
and hand-held Queldeday, turning gloomy interiors into glorious glowing spaces. Their illumination powers were greatly magnified, along with their size and mobility. They may be directed by simple cues to move, pause and change direction, along with creating certain formations, such as a circle, wedge or line, as needed. These Recovered Ones
have become vital servants of the Koru and are classified as Modified.
Upata Bulb or Bud
Also known as The Cluster Bulb or Bud, they are beings formed and perfected by a series of Danam Yeldic Majastas
over much of the Yeldic Nantu
and Emaxul
ages, called the ‘Rota of Upata Majastas Mothers.’
They are living dwellings for clusters
and serve as vital protection during the destructive cycles of the Burning Blossom, and their interior is hollow for the cluster to dwell. The roof comprises gills that regularly exchange air while minimizing the loss of cluster aroma. They store water, grow food and process waste.
Upata Bulbs are the most massive and, at the same time, intimate of all Living Instruments. Their walls are elastic and pliable to the cluster’s wishes. Openings may be made from the inside and closed again. Their flesh will easily separate from and merge with other bulbs to create composite living interiors for larger and smaller groups of one or more clusters.
Due to all clusters coming to live within these bulbs, the faces of all Danam Yeldic Provincial Centres have changed. The former orderly grid system of roadways gives way to a labyrinth of alleyways between constantly shifting Upata living walls.
Its more critical service is as a permanent, living cluster compound capable of being deeply sensitive to and responsive to its host cluster’s needs. This new living entity is highly specialized and adaptive to changing circumstances due to containing a sufficiently complex series of internal senses. Under normal circumstances, a Upata Bulb is expected to live between two to four centuries.
This Danam Yeldic
Icon
depicts a single Circle of Eight
within a symbolic Upata Bulb. Except for a new circle of eight, most of these would also have pre-adults
and Fresh Adults
among them, but only Ripe Adults
are counted in the Cluster Grade. The actual Bulb is far more abundant, the smallest able to house the First Grade of clusters, being eight circles of eight. It has more than two roots and may form a variety of shapes. They generally form a lateral ‘teardrop’ with an oval with a more extensive section at one end and a narrower section at the other. The traditional ‘four gates’ are maintained but not fixed, as the bulb shifts and changes shape over time due to cluster modification and its whims. It is to be noted that the gills are fully open in this image, which usually happens only at night. During a Burning Blossom, the gills fold over each other, forming a barrier against Nu’s Burning Eye.
Bulb monitors health through feet
Throughout the Primary
and Secondary
Epochs, it was always customary for cluster
mates to completely disrobe once entering their cluster compound. The Bulb
monitors their bare feet walking directly on their lower interior and thus knows how many of the cluster are present and the general health of each member. The Bulb is sensitive to any urgings to create any feature, including the equivalent of beds, tables, and other furniture out of their flesh and withdrawing them when no longer needed. Healing Vats
have completely secure niches responsive to their shifts and bends. The walls also expand and contract according to the size of the population. The ceiling comprises a gill system that refreshes the air while filtering out unwanted elements and maintaining the Scent Wall
of the cluster. The Bulb can also undulate and vibrate in specific locations to aid large and small events.
Living cluster compounds
In large part, the creation of Upata buds by the Yelda
derives its ancestry from the deep craft with Sheshenara. They are seen as the ultimate embodiment of the most-ancient Uluvatu Masters
dictum, ‘Life must live with life.’ As such, they have become living cluster compounds. This series of Epochal Generational Plans
is ranked, along with the refinement and perfection of the Acoon, as comparable to the Venerable Koru’s fashioning of the Danam Yelda.
Bulbs within Tatchlan
Beyond the Bulb’s roots within the Skin of Anu, their power is due to their fully articulated presence within the Living System of Tatchlan. Many Operants
and Invocates
may quickly locate the ‘Cluster of Sixty-Four Radiant Bulbs,’ one for each breed (see below), as archetypes of all Living Upata Bulbs. This formation receives impressions from all bulbs and forms a fulcrum for what could be described as a consciousness that possesses them all, further enlivening and empowering them in their services and protection.
Sixty-Four Breeds of Bulbs
While the above description applies to all Upata Bulbs, sixty-four distinct breeds vary from each other in many ways. This variety was intended to serve several purposes. The first is to the cluster
they host. Clusters differ not only by Grade
but also in various catalogued ways known as ‘Tones.’ This is now well understood, and new clusters are automatically brought to the most conducive breed of Upata Bulb to inhabit. Initially, when the Upata Bulbs were first introduced, there was much dislocation as clusters endeavoured to discover which breed best suited them. Once the Cluster Tone and Bulb Breed are harmonized, most clusters usually remain with the Bulb for generations. It may be said the Upata Bulb is refined and, in turn, refines the Tone of the cluster inhabiting it. This leads to the host Bulb undergoing many subtle alterations to its appearance and function throughout its long lifespan of three to four hundred years.
Bulbs form Encirclement society
Another important reason for the plurality of breeds is to form robust networks between other Bulbs. Their roots send out feelers to connect with neighbouring Bulbs within their Encirclement. Below the ground, this web of connections brings about many surface benefits. If one Bulb is ill, the living mesh knows, and those able to administer aid do so through their tendrils. This lattice also allows for the ongoing shifts and movements of individuals and groups of Bulbs within the Encirclement. Within urban environments, where many smaller clusters gather into Encirclements. The innovation of Upata Bulbs made clear the propensity of differing Cluster Tones
gathering together into a complex society. The combination of ‘Companionable,’ ‘Complimentary,’ and supposedly ‘Incompatible’ configurations make for colourful Encirclements.
Duets, Trios, Quartets, Quintets, Sextets, Septets, and Octets
While all Bulbs
are linked by their roots in a network within and beyond their Encirclement, the clusters
they host may initiate an above-ground bonding between neighbouring Bulbs. If relations between adjacent clusters grow sufficiently intense, they may literally ‘push’ their Bulbs gently together. If all cluster mates gather on one side and lean against the Bulb's inner wall, it will give way in increments. While this may be done for other reasons, it is mainly initiated by two clusters craving to live within a larger company. Such formations came to be called by musical terminology based on the original term ‘Tone.’ Two Bulbs joining became a Duet, three a Trio and so on. In any given Encirclement, one or more Duets or larger multiples may form a colourful and idiosyncratically harmonic series. These arrangements usually only last for a brief period, seldom extending beyond a year. During this time, they often become a hub for arduous and vibrant activity throughout the Encirclement. There is an exception to this in the form of Rural Upata Bulbs. Of necessity, there is always a permanent arrangement of four or more Bulbs to accommodate a larger rural population. An array of eight Upata Bulbs into an Octet is, with few notable exceptions, the largest a Rural Bulb configuration achieves.
Burning Blossom protection
All of these benefits are self-evident. Yet, the fundamental reason for these living compounds was a defence against the scourge known as the Burning Blossom. Part of the reason for this Living Instrument's immensely long gestation period was combining highly complex characteristics, including being a living barrier to this worst form of Non-Living Bane. With the Second Cycle
of the Second Burning Blossom of the Secondary Epoch, it became apparent that the Kanart Mushroom, a Koru Living Instrument, would no longer serve the Koru within their Living Mountains, leading to their establishment of the Deep Domains. By the Sixth Cycle, vast quantities of these mushrooms were deployed throughout Statos-Vey. They were planted on the ceilings of the inert Danam Yeldic
cluster
compounds and public monuments of the time. Despite proving vital in protecting the population, it was clear that the next series might be too powerful for even the hardy Yelda to withstand as the Cycles grew in intensity. There also was the issue of providing adequate shelter for Living Instruments and other vital animate resources during these periods.
Scent Separations and Upata Touched
The Upata Bulb
is also known to display its exceptional ability to initiate Scent Separations
in unusual circumstances when a discordant portion of a cluster
becomes apparent. This may manifest by the sudden appearance of low barriers and channels within the Bulb to separate certain Circles of Eight
from the rest. In most cases, such surprising interventions are unnecessary as the cluster Maja, Elders
and other Spokes
detect these issues well in time. Only in rare instances does their Upata Bulb commence with such action. Various Touched Classes, native to the cluster or brought in for their specialty, assist Elders in ‘reading’ their Bulb’s intent. A variety of Touched may possess the required sensitivities to obtain the title ‘Upata Touched.’ While most are Cousin Touched, many Savant Touched
have also proved their ability in these obscure communications. The most powerful is the Skin Touched. To employ these requires negotiations, Vat Master Enclave, where most of this rare breed resides. The proper protocols must be established before these powerful Sensitives
may be conducted to the cluster to assist in communicating with their Bulbs during such times. They are usually accompanied by other classes of Touched from the Enclave to convey the results of the Skin Touched’s enquiries.
Edifice Bureau Plant/Animals
Inari and Shaka Bishamon
With the advent of clusters
sheltering within Upata Bulbs
during the Emaxul Age
of the Danam Yelda, many changes took place within their Cluster-of-Clusters Nation. One notable change involved the Edifice Bureau
of the Preeminent Works Ministry. It was now charged with animating the interiors of historic buildings made of non-living materials with an ‘inner skin’ of life to be tolerable to the populations visiting them. The bureau fashioned many beings out of their Builder Enclaves
to serve this purpose. Most of them are of the plant/animal class. The two primary beings are the Inari
and Shaka Bishamon.
The Inari are tiny creatures that cling to vertical walls, sending out an artful network of suction roots, forming beautiful interlacing patterns with the roots of those around them. Their short stems hold oval blooms of tiny tentacles that draw in the exhaled breath and particles from the Yelda
within the structure.
These creatures sport a variety of hues, which change with the time of day and other conditions, including the size of the building’s population. At intervals, they move slow circles on their stems, setting off elaborate patterns among large numbers across the expanse they inhabit. These movements continuously change in speed and direction, further enlivening the interior.
The other primary being the Edifice Bureau plants and maintains in these dead structures are Shaka Bishamon. They are far more prominent and occupy the ceiling. Hanging down, they also feed on the airborne juices of the populations below. The Bishamon take a variety of forms, most differences having to do with their combination of motion.
Pictured here is the emblem for the bureau, showing stylized representations of both the Inari and Bishamon. The Shaka Bishamon is the most spectacular. It is designed to occupy the central portion of a long rectangular structure and sway dramatically from one side to the other. The Edifice Bureau sometimes grows a basket below the mouth so other beings of their devising may nest within this swaying cradle and emit songs that vary according to the speed and momentum of the Shaka Bishamon. They may also emit powerful medicines employed in portions of Ablution Academies
to facilitate the ecstatic performance of various circle activities.
Koru 

Insects and Insect Societies
Within the Secondary Epoch, the Venerable Koru
distinguished themselves in many ways. One form their genius took on was refining Recovered Insect Societies or casting entirely new insect nations into their service. Usually, these innovations were incorporated into the Danam Yelda’s Cluster-of-Clusters Nation.
Mecalan
The Foremost Ones
noted these insect colonies for several reasons. In their raw state, they gather in their tiny millions, forming a uniquely viscous, slow-moving mass, yet, when alarmed, they would suddenly flow with surprising swiftness by collectively producing a series of controlled thrumming vibrations or ‘pulses.’ During these short bursts of speed, they also displayed a remarkable ability to sense and navigate obstacles. Very early cultures learned they could tolerate significant weights and be stimulated to carry them over great distances at extraordinary speed. They became part of many prehistoric cultures and entered into folklore.
Before the Uluvatu Masters, the first experiments were done with breeding and training these creatures to carry carts over predictable distances. It was not until the Primary Masters could reach and modify them within the Living System
that the creation of a specialized branch fitted to live on the underside of carriages within surface transit networks was perfected.
They found they could send inert freight from one end of Anu to the other at extraordinary speeds. Many millennia passed before they successfully modified the creatures to travel at controlled rates for the comfort and safety of populated carriages. Once this was finally achieved early in the Greater Era
of the Primary Epoch, mass transit based on the predictable and stable Mecalan colony pulses became possible.
After The Killing Swath, the last generations of Tolku
successfully recovered surviving colonies of Mecalan, although they were damaged and required tending. As such, they are designated as Recovered Ones
of the second or more profound rank of ‘Modified.’ Pictured here is the icon for the Koru Mecalan, a distinctive being fashioned by the first Koru Majastas, Zudaz I, early in Her short reign. She fashioned the resilient and robust version used by both Koru
and Danam Yelda
to this day. With this revitalization, the Koru parade of dynasties, the emergence and proliferation of Koru Living Mountains
across Rho-Jashun, and the swift and secure ability to cross Anu
were made possible.
The eight Koru Mecalan are shown within the traditional Koru Living Mountain Icon frame. They face downward, indicating their kingdom lies beneath the Skin of Anu
in their beds along the transit line tracks. Unlike the original green Tolku
Mecalan or the black remnant Mecalan surviving the Killing Swath, the Koru Mecalan are mottled blue. Other features also distinguish them, mainly forty legs, twenty per side, and four well-developed groupings of eyes at the front of their long bodies. This extended thoracic length forms part of their improved efficiency in creating their pulse, which is vital to transportation. This length also allows for better adjustment. As in most-ancient times, the Mecalan pulse is naturally too powerful and must be modified for living cargo. 


Transit Pulses are divided into two sets. The first is the ‘non-living range,’ which can exceed Pulse Two Hundred and is suitable for rapidly transporting tightly packed, high-value freight. The second is the ‘living range’ for passengers and other living cargo. This runs from Pulse One to Pulse Forty. Pulse One means the carriages move so slowly along the platform that passengers can quickly enter or exit. Pulse Forty is deemed the maximum speed for living occupants. The Koru set this standard, but most of the Danam Yelda find the top speed of Forty Pulses distressing, so they have adjusted their top speed to thirty-seven Pulses. Only in emergencies will they go up to Forty Pulses.
The Koru ingeniously designed a symbolic system to monitor the speed and location of the carriage constantly. Reke
involves rows of elongated characters etched into the tunnel walls that can only be read when the carriage travels at certain speeds.
Pelens
This is a distinct Tatchlan
creation of the Koru
and, therefore, carries the Innovated Rank
among Recovered Ones. These tiny beings
are tuned to seek out a specific location and then put into dormancy. They can be planted under the skin of any travelling great distances. They immediately emerge and proliferate throughout the skin near the surface. If some harm or trauma occurs to the host, the Pelens are quickened and appear to fly back to their designated home location. Their tiny bead heads are propelled by long whiptails that allow them to travel great distances swiftly.
As they travel, they change in shape and colour, given the duration and direction of their trip. This assists those receiving them in determining where their hosts were when their Pelens were released. Their greatest peril is when they first emerge. If they are delayed, they might be destroyed by encroaching swarms of Thethelem
attracted to the aromas of the body.
The Pelens deliberately separate themselves into individual fliers to minimize predation and can cover great distances at speeds outstripping other messengers. In this way, they serve as a timely warning of distant tragedy or calamity. Pelens are used by the Koru
and Danam Yeldic
Commandant Ministry, particularly the Calamity
and Resolution
Bureaus, and are placed in the bodies of all their forces. The Kudurapala of the Mahamdul Maritime Empire most extensively uses them to present quick confirmation of any mishap among their vast fleets of cluster ships.
This Koru Icon
shows them arising from a dead host to commence their mission as emissaries of grief through a sea of putrefaction.
Ixim
This being, another unique Koru
Living Instrument, is Ranked as Innovated
among their Recovered Ones collection. Ixim
is closely related to Pelens, yet this creature has a very different use. They are charged with consuming dead matter. They are employed in times of disaster and other unusual circumstances to quickly clear large areas of the dead.
They have a complex life cycle operating at an accelerated rate. They are kept in dried powder form until needed and then are poured over what they must work on. Moisture quickens them, and they immediately begin to feed. The first generation matures and reproduces in the first hour before dying away in the second.
Subsequent generations go through changes in their feeding environment. Earlier fats and soft tissue diets are dispensed with when more complex material is encountered.
Later generations also begin to feed on the bodies of previous generations, reducing them to a fine powder. Significant changes occur when bones and teeth remain.
When they run out of food, the last generation turns on their parents and each other, leaving only a fine residue of rich nourishment for typical soil elements. Each stage is measured by a small, high-pitched ‘song’ in the form of a series of rapid pulses given off by the population. It is also seen in their change of colour. The power starts as white; when enlivened, it turns yellow through to dark green before turning bright rose and rust. These colours reflect the different generations and their increasingly complex diet. The last stage sees the last generation returning to white.
This Koru
icon
depicts their reducing death to make way for life. While it is the universal icon employed by both Koru and Danam Yelda, the Commandant Ministry
of both nations has others to signify the different preparations of Ixim crafted for various uses. All these variations fall within one of two general categories: ‘Short Ixim’ has a limited range, whereas ‘Long Ixim’ is meant to seek further nourishment far from their initial dispersal aggressively.
Gomuun
One of the earliest creations by the last Tolku/first Koru
during the first four founding generations was the Gomuun. These tiny creatures
were found in certain small passageways within the newly opened Sanctuary Mountains of Chraxan, Rongu
and Arnom. They lived on the upper portions of crevasses of all sizes, reaching out with their fan jaws to trap moisture, small insects and other particulate matter. They illuminate their way and dazzle their small prey with small phosphorescent balls suspended by tendrils in front of their bodies.
These tiny beings tended to form herds for protection and moved in rough formation on two gripping limbs holding onto the roof of their terrain. While studied, like all forms of life, during the Primary Epoch, the Tolku
were not driven by any necessity to locate them within the Living System of Tatchlan
and modify them. The emerging Koru did have a pressing need for them.
The Guardians
were changing by the Third Generation’s
arrival in the Sanctuaries
several decades after The Killing Swath. Among many other indicators, their growing preference for living within the mountains and below ground led to an expansion of the mysterious chambers they had found. The Tolku
mostly lived on the Skin of Anu. What air circulation had been engineered was now inadequate for a growing population wishing to live exclusively within spaces enclosed by rock. The Fourth Generation, famed for risking all to bring back Living Instruments
and all products of intelligence of the Primary Epoch
that could be found, also laid the foundations for a new class of Koru
Invocate.
These early Koru Invocates explored and helped to revive the Living System
after the blow of The Killing Swath. They also did much to animate the Recovered Ones, Living Instruments and other beings modified within Tatchlan
to serve the Tolku. Long before the brilliant innovation of the Healing Vats, these early Invocates discovered the presence of the Gomuun within The Living System. They applied their genius to harnessing their potential to solve the air purification, and circulation challenges the Koru faced within the enclosed spaces of the mountains. This task was possible even at this early stage of Koru Civilization due to the Gomuun’s being uniquely amenable to modification. These beings are of the Modified Rank
of Koru Recovered Ones.
As a result of these unknown Koru Operants
and Invocates’ efforts, the Gomuun
came to form orderly lines and possessed the tiny air conduits drilled throughout the original Sanctuaries
to the surface. They now moved in single file and co-ordinated fashion through these airways. They were always paired up with another column on the opposite side of the chamber. While one side moved from the interior to the surface, the other moved from the surface to the interior. Together, they created the ‘Gomuun Breath,’ which felt like gentle ongoing breezes throughout the Koru domains. The Gomuun had two primary functions. The first was to force airflow in and out of these chambers. The second was to constantly scour all material, living or otherwise, from these passageways to keep them clear. Usually, once reaching either end, they would emerge and form a growing circular formation all around the entrance until the last emerged; they would then turn and go back into the channel to repeat their operation.
Along with making the mountains of the Central Triumvirate
fully habitable, one of their early forms of service was aerating the most-ancient Mount Midin Amassment
and, later, the Treasuries.
The displayed icon
shows these beings from the side, travelling through thin channels perfectly proportioned for them. What cannot be shown from this perspective is that they are nearly entirely round, again ensuring a near-perfect seal carrying an air pocket from the surface to the interior and taking a similar pocket from the interior back out to the surface, often at a considerable distance on the other side.
Yakku Instruments
The Yakku, despite their differing approach to Tatchlan, also used the Living System in many ways, including creating and modifying living beings uniquely suited to their arboreal existence. It may be noted here that the Koru
crafted the following images, referred to as ‘Emblems,’ to illustrate Yakku society.
Tamaroth Forests
These trees
are planted thick anywhere they consider sensitive, such as the borders of the Yakku’s Paramount Barrier. The trunks are composed of intense vertical stripes of varying shapes and lengths. Their vibrant pattern makes it impossible to judge distance, and anyone entering the forests becomes lost in them.
Their trunks were a wild contrast of light and dark vertical stripes of varying widths, travelling the length of the trunk and along the branches, creating a fantastic and disorienting pattern for outsiders. The Tamaroth Forests confuse and confound anyone entering them. Wild contrasting stripes created a bizarre illusion of waving lines, defeating all attempts to distinguish one trunk from the other or judge any distance. Upon closer examination, they found the Tamaroth trunks relatively smooth; their trunks tended to be broad and near flat with rounded sides. They appeared to be composed of several long vertical segments side by side. The uneven segments lead to a general pattern of vertical ridges starting and stopping at variance to their neighbours. The intense dark and light pattern disregards this underlying structure and flows over it independently.
This emblem
only hints at the sense of disorientation created by the thick stands of these trees. The colouration contrasts with the underlying trunk, creating a bright display. When multiplied by many more nearby, it causes the viewer to lose all perception of the edges, leaving them with a dizzying sense of a shifting solid wall before them.
The Viracocha District Flora Ministry
initially designed these trees during the Primary Epoch. The Yakku of the Secondary Epoch
inherited their lore and perpetuated these trees as a highly effective barrier. They were first against the invading Suvuka
during their Second Onslaught
during The Interim
period and then against all outsiders for much of the Secondary Epoch.
Gidalist
Gidalist is a cross between a creature and a plant
living in the vast forests and jungles of North and Western Thermistal. While they occasionally scuttle over the ground, they primarily position themselves mid-way on the trunks of Tamaroth
and other trees. They are sensitive to particular types of ground vibration. Moving up and down the trunks and among the branches with great patience, their tendrils test the air and the trunks for movement. Certain ‘root tendrils’ settle in long strands going far up the tree and down to the ground. When roused, they fling their vines out in preparation for the strike and alert neighbouring Gidalists of approaching prey. This lashing action creates a characteristic whipping sound, which also serves to alert the Yakku
above. The Viracocha District Flora Ministry
modified these beings during the Primary Epoch. They now ignore the few wild animals allowed to continue on the forest floor, while most Yakku domestic creatures are also in the trees. Beyond a new pest species, this leaves any unwelcome or unusual ground movers a target. Any threat would be caught with blinding swiftness and pulled up for inspection by the Yakku. Some evidence within the Living System
suggests the Tolku
fashioned them for additional service beyond perimeter defence. Still, neither the Yakku nor Koru
have discovered and unlocked these hidden uses during the Secondary Epoch.
Mernet Tree
Mernet is a family of trees
fashioned by the Viracocha District Flora Ministry
during the Primary Epoch. The most-ancient Tolku
employed them in creating various ‘living structures and bridges.' Still, it was not until The Interim
that the emerging Yakku
gave them a central role in their society.
These trees can assume guided shapes beyond any other and are used to fashion fantastic sculpted forms. Within the Yakku Collective
of the Secondary Epoch,
groups of Mernet are used to create complex elevated structures. Limbs can be trained to encircle the trunks of surrounding trees to provide additional support along with broad platforms. The bark and underlying wood naturally form a series of cavities going up the trunk and a protruding lip at the base of the cavity. While this served to gather rainwater naturally, they also became natural upper and lower handholds for the early Yakku.
While there are many other aspects to the Yakku’s success, the Mernet forms the structural foundation of their society. Traditional belief maintains the tree absorbs lightning strikes. Witnesses commonly see it struck by lightning many times with no ill effect. After a strike, the tree is hot and strange odours come out of the trunk cavities for a time.
This emblem
illustrates the central role of the Mernet Tree in Yakku life. The tree rises and assumes many unusual shapes, forming regular cavities for various uses. A series of Yakku Hands encircle both sides, containing many symbols of Yakku life. These include the Gandahatapan, the ‘Perfection of the Air,’ and the venerated Mahakram veil trees in their yellow webs. Also present are the three classes of smaller Cousins, the Asaku, Mayku
and Tecku, who are fundamental to daily Yakku life. Also seen are the great swimmers of the air currents, the Xumkuka
and Kumastam. It is to be noted that the Yakku Hands
arise out of the primordial death and birth symbols, suggesting this is a primary setting for all aspects of Yakku society.
Mernet Balls
These are specialized growths, usually issuing out of platforms in Crown Rises
on relatively narrow stems to form large leafy balls. The leaves of these balls are broader and rounded than the rest of the tree. These Mernet Balls are often of surprisingly large dimensions, given their thin trunks, leading to their usually forming small stands with tendrils radiating out of each stalk to connect. Their lush appearance and undulations in the winds are a source of delight. Their primary purpose is to take sustenance from Nu’s unimpeded Eye
above the canopy to sustain the underlying Mernet Platforms and other living sculptural formations with few to no leaves breathing for them.
Waving Arms
The Yakku
claim they accomplished this extraordinary modification, providing the most novel example of an altered being using Tatchlan. See Sivist for details of this creature in its raw state. They are a distant relation to the Memanu
and live twined about successive trees, suctioning various foods off the trunks.
The Tolku’s
Viracocha District Flora Ministry discovered these beings during the Primary Epoch. They found the Sivist could sustain incredible pressure. The Ministry used Tatchlan to grow them in colonies of dense rows and predetermined courses throughout the Twenty-Three Regional Trees. It took the form of dense colonies of tubular animals varying in hue from dark green to black, growing the height just short of most mature trees. Their bodies end in singular round mouths with powerful suction lips. This novel formation allowed unique domesticated corridors to transport passengers and goods rapidly.
They designed platforms or ‘sleds’ that could ride along the top of these during an induced ‘wave.’ Like the Mecalan
colonies, these creatures form a powerful and continuous ripple that will move at varying speeds along the entire length of the course. Tendrils send the message of wave formation forward to connect the tubes. The tendrils alert each tube, which feels the collective tremor and tension of the approaching wave. It catches hold of the platform and propels it to the tubes ahead. The Viracocha District Flora Ministry also developed specialized tools to induce increasing and decreasing speeds and moving from one channel to another.
Like all other Yakku images, this emblem
was designed during the tumultuous period known as The Interim, the seven hundred years separating The Killing Swath
from the commencement of the Secondary Epoch. Specifically, these icons were fashioned between 178 (the year of the initial contact
between Koru
and Yakku) and 300 of The Interim. This is significant because this image illustrates the Waving Arms being fully formed and functioning at a very early stage of Yakku civilization. The Yakku would later claim the Waving Arms were entirely their creation instead of the inheritance of the Tolku Viracocha District Flora Ministry of the Primary Epoch. It is speculated this is due to their rejecting the evidence of significant modification of the Sivist within the System of Tatchlan. The Waving Arms avenues are deep within the Regional Trees and are fundamental to transport and communications, Yakku culture and identity. Therefore, the Yakku reject the authenticity of this image, saying it is a later invention in the style of The Interim images.
