Irekei: The Chaos Gate

Irekei: The Chaos Gate

I sent Meridian a very lengthy bit of questions last night, and he responded to half of them so far....maybe more will follow. Here's what he said:

Prepare yourself for the Sun's Anvil....

What?!?
The last batch of info wasn't enough?!?

Just kidding... Okay - let's dive right in.

Meridian: About the Chaos Gate - here we run into one of those grey areas produced by the fact that I've never made a detailed map of pre-turning Aerynth. That, pus space constraints in the Lore, may have led you to the assumption that the Chaos Gate was in the Burning Lands. Well, lemme clear that up - I don't think it was. It was in the middle of nowhere, and the hordes of Chaos plus the mega battles that have happened since have reduced the surrounding are to worse than a desert now, but I figure the Chaos Gate wasn't in the Burning Lands originally (if I've stated somewhere flat out that it was, smack me and I'll reevise my opinion) - after all, the Irekei didn't know about it until the Dragon told them. I really like the idea of the opener having to leave the desert and brave the world Outside to find it and do the Dragon's will - it'd make a fine epic poem. Plus, in my head it always seemd that when the gate was opened, the Elves suddenly found themselves hit on a different front, from a different direction - they had to pull out of the Burning Lands to engage in the War of the Scourge. That's one reason the Irekei made it through. Had the epicenter of the War of the Scourge been in the Burning Lands, I'm not sure the Irekei would have made it through. As for the times since, I think there could be a dedicated, die hard bunch devoted to re-opening the gate, who continually harrass the garisson. Or not.

Of course, a cynical non-Irekei might look on the whole thing from a very different viewpoint - imagine a sleepy, grumpy, wounded Dragon (still bleeding out his eye) waking up briefly to answer the endless stream of requests and supplication from those annoying little gnat beings and finally saying "look - just go open the Chaos Gate, okay? Do that and you'll be fine." Then, as thre Dragon drifts back to sleep, he thinks "That'll show 'em. The Dark Lords will clean off the whole surface of the planet and I'll never be annoyed by lesser beings again. Finally I can get some decent sleep!" But if that were acutally the case, the Irekei sure don't know that.

As for Morloch and the Sand Trolls, I figure by the end of the War of the Scourge there were lots of new deserts created that didn't necessarily have Irekei in them. Sand Trolls are pretty nasty, and very destructive. I expect the Irekei see them as abominations, and either hunt them to keep them from ravaging their local ecology or else to prove that they're macho enough to kill one. As for Chaos spawn, I figure the Irekei haven't had that mush to do with them - the Dark Lords are probably regarded with awe and more than a little suspicion - and no, the Chaos denizens feel no particular bond with the Irekei - they're just more fodder. All that lives on Aerynth is fodder. The deluded cults who worship them are fodder. And Chaos is very hungry.

Now, on to culture!

As to the harming of Viarakt mambers - this, at last, is where the Klingon side of the Irekei emerges. An Irekei's bond with their Virakt mates is absolute, but it presupposes that each member is fit and pulling their weight. Members who show too much weakness quickly lose their Virakt status, and are therefore fair game. This is how they prune the tree as you put it. Irekei are people too, and I imagine all sorts of internal disputes arise among them - over mates, objects, bragging rights, leadership, you name it. Quarrels and even duels are permissable, so long as they do not diminish the Virakt's survival capability. So two rivals can have a fist fight, or even a knife fight, but to deprive the Virakt of a hunter or warrior by killing or maiming them is a hefty sin indeed, so duel carefully! Many disputes are handled thorugh contests, judged by impartial parties.

I can expect there are libraries full of tradition and etiquette regarding leadership disputes, The Irekei place a lot of value in bloodlines - being the descendent of a hero is a cool thing, for your blood is their blood. BUT, they also know that deeds and results, not pedigree, are the ultimate judges of strength and worthiness. I figure that if an Irekei has issue with how the leader is leading the Virakt, they can challeng the leader. This is probably the oly arena where inter-Vriakt death duels are permissable - after all, if a weak leader is slain, the Virakt is only strengthened.
The most wothry will win. Period. I figure there's a lot the elders and Magi do to advise a good leader, and if they don't approve they can ensure his eventual failure or replacement, but for the most part, leadership is settled through challenges (not always to the death, either, a wise Irekei feels no shame when he admits someone is stonger than he, so long as he is sufficiently strong to still deserve the name of Irekei).

About alcohol: I imagine the Irekei having robust appetities for a good party - after all, they're wound pretty tight, and they need to let off a tremendous amount of steam. As for the water metabolism argument, I wouldn't worry about it - their physiology probably is simply different enough that this isn't an issue. As for the dulled wits, well, a little bit is occasionally permissible.
Just don't get smashed the night before a big raid, and don't do it too often. Celebrations, like everything else, probably hvae a rigidly defined list of acceptable occasions, each with a prescription of rhow much everyone can indulge. As for the actual drinks, wines ground from cactus fruit, perhaps mixed with alkaloidal herbs strike me as good, while the brawny Irekei drink something on the order of Mongolian koumiss (that being a fermented mixture of mare's milk curds and horse blood) - the milk of herd animals mixed with blood and fermeted. Mmmmm. They drink it not because it tastes good, mind you (although it does pack quite a whallop). They drink it to prove they can.

I see many more questions here... I'll have to get to them later - must return to work now.

I hope these help!

M

*gets a rag and soaks up the drool off his chin, keyboard, and desk*

Looks like the tea ideas are out the window. Back to the blood drink discussion we had earlier
By-Vhayr