Friday, August 10, 2007

Dhe’nari Bards

08/10/2007

I once gave a brief overview of the Dhe’nari bard here:

“The Dhe’nar bard is the lorekeeper of his people. It is the bard’s job to be the living history of the Dhe’nar, memorizing every last bit of history, genealogy, and mythology of the First Born. Their training lasts longer than that of any other Dhe’nar profession, as they must commit to memory every detail of a culture that has existed for 80,000 years. Utilizing a vast variety of mnemonic devices to retain all this knowledge, the Dhe’nar Lorekeepers claim to be the first of the mortal races to have discovered the magic resident within the spoken word. However, not all Dhe’nari bards become Lorekeepers. Those who seek combat can find themselves valued in the Warrior Caste, and those who prefer to research the nature of their sound magic can find a role with the Warlock caste as well.”

I would like to expand upon this now, as the Lorekeeper I mentioned then is but one role of many.

Though those of other nations choose to collectively refer to those that wield sound magic as entertainers, or “bards”, those of the Dhe’nar rarely share a common title, preferring to be known by their individual roles within their castes. Few, if any, are entertainers, as the Common term implies. Any of them may be a Lorekeeper, a Sonomancer, one of the Discordant, and so on.

It is, of course, their particular approach to magic, their belief in the raw power of sound, that truly unites the Dhe’nari “bards”, while simultaneous setting them apart from their brethren. Specifically, most believe that sound itself is the underlying foundation of all magic, and not only that, but creation itself, and it is through the manipulation of sound that they seek Ascension.

As the theory goes, everything that exists is tied to a certain sound, a certain harmony, known as its resonance. This resonance contains determines the object’s nature, and as something changes, so does its “sound”. Conversely, by changing something’s resonance, the object itself then changes.

These two elements form the basis of Dhe’nari theories of sound magic. The ability to “read” the information in an object’s resonance forms the basis of the “loresinging” ability, while the ability to change the resonance in oneself, another, or one’s surroundings, essentially “rewriting” them, forms the basis of bardic “spells”. Thus their “songs” are truly a method of creating an informational construct, then forcing it on the world by imposing its harmonics over those that existed previously. Once the “bard” ceases to transmit sounds, local reality reasserts itself once more.

Theoretically, one could change the very world, or the stars, or even creation itself, if one had the proper harmonics, and a powerful enough delivery system.

The Sonomancers believe that resonance is the true lynchpin underlying all magics, from those of the Drakes to the lowliest savage hedge wizard. Other orders of magicians tend to dispute this, naturally, though none have, as of yet, disproven it.

Although many different types of Dhe’nari bard exist, beyond the three I mentioned above, one is probably more likely to encounter a Sonomancer (pure sound mages, typically members of the Warlock Caste) or a member of the Discordant (a military order that applies destructive harmonics to its physical combat skills, members of the Warrior Caste).

The Lorekeepers are not often seen outside Sharath, as they have effectively turned themselves into living libraries. By changing their resonance bit by bit over many long years, and reinforcing every piece of information they impose on their minds, they become repositories of vast amounts of Dhe’nari lore, from History to Genealogy (very important in a society that suffered a catastrophic population loss, and wishes to avoid inbreeding) to Research, and so on. The eldest and most advanced Lorekeepers hold the combined knowledge of tens of thousands of years of Dhe’nar culture in their heads, dispensing such information as their people need it. The reasons one may never encounter such individuals outside Sharath are twofold, and may already be obvious to the reader.

For one, the value of such an individual to Dhe’nar society cannot be overstated, and leaving Sharath always comes with risk. And secondly, the most advanced Lorekeepers have sacrificed much for their abilities, and can easily find it difficult to interact on a normal basis with the mundane world.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

The Dhe’nar View of the “Gods”: Onar (Lesser Spirit)

07/29/2006

Onar is an ascended assassin who has been known to sell his services to the Arkati (of both “pantheons”, as the younger cultures divide them), and to mortals who know the secrets of both attracting his attention and the types of payment he accepts. It is not known who Onar was when mortal, and it is believed that he has long since eliminated anyone who knew his original identity.

When Onar acts, he rarely, if ever, does so in his own form, as secrecy is of vital importance to him. Rather, he prefers to possess mortals and act through them. Typically, he chooses one with skills, knowledge, or connections that will assist him in his work. Some Dhe’nar assassin sects, particularly the Bent Talon and the Sons of Ash, are known to hope to become temporary vessels of Onar, as it is said that when the possession ends, some elements of the spirit’s skill/knowledge is left behind.

While some claim that Onar leaves a skull mark on those he possesses, the truth of the matter is that no competent assassin would announce his intentions in such an obvious manner, visible to even a cursory search. To the Dhe’nar and others with common sense, it is understood that such marks are used for distraction and misdirection.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Warrior Caste Overview

10/09/2005

The Dhe’nar Warrior Caste includes mostly (in game terms) warriors, rogues, and rangers. Collectively they are known as Guardians.

The Dhe’nar cannot field armies in the manner of larger nations and empires, but they have no need to, isolated as they are. Any invading force large enough to threaten them would have a very difficult time reaching them, and keeping up supply routes along the way. There are, of course, rumors that Ascended Dhe’nar spirits also act as guardians to Sharath, and would by themselves provide a formidable obstacle to any assault, although as far as outsiders know, this has never been proven.

The standard Dhe’nar Warrior is an elite soldier trained to operate in small, highly mobile and relatively independent units. Large infantry formations are useless in a dense jungle environment, and they have no use for cavalry at all. Much like modern special forces units, raids, ambushes, and other guerilla-level tactics are what they are trained to excel in.

Dhe’nar rangers and rogues are more accurately called Scouts. They are trained to operate either in pairs or independently. Their job is to range far and wide throughout the jungles in order to gather intelligence regarding the resident tribes, hostile creatures, or any potential threats to the Dhe’nar they might stumble upon. Although skilled warriors, they are not intended to engage in combat in anything other than a desperate situation. It is the job of the larger, more heavily armed units of warriors to directly engage threats. Unlike their ranger counterparts in other nations, the Scouts hold no particular reverence for nature. It is a medium they operate within, and no more.

Scouts with Rogue skills are more skilled in operating in population centers than their Ranger counterparts. They tend to be, though aren’t always, more specialized in the fields of security, law enforcement, espionage, and, if needed, assassination.

Though all these branches are elite by the standards of other cultures, even they have their elite units, with traditions reaching back hundreds, if not thousands of years. The BladeWed (a name symbolizing their nearly religious bond with their weapon of choice) are an example of one such elite unit, dedicated to serving as warriors for the Temple caste. There are many more military orders.

Other professions are represented in the Warrior caste as well, though not in the same numbers as the above three. These others are Bards, Wizards, Empaths, and Paladins. All of these professions have members that may find their skils suited more to military application than their more stereotypical roles, and can thus readily find a place in Guardian units. Such members provide the Warrior caste with more tactical flexibility than they would otherwise have, with no magical assistance.

To the Warrior Caste, Ascension is sought in battle, in the perfection of the physical fighting arts, and they seek to emulate those Arkati reknowned for their non-magical combat prowess. For them, the spilling of blood in combat is a sacrament, no less spiritual than meditation in a temple.