Sunday, October 09, 2005
Tower Critique: Tattoos
10/09/2005
It is hardly a surprise that the painful...yet sensual…
::snores::
First rule of sensuality: If you have to tell someone it’s sensual, it isn’t.
...art of tattooing appeals to the Dhe’nar. Sharath produces many fine tattoo artists, with eyes for beautiful design and needles that delve deeply into the flesh.
Then they don’t tattoo. If you’re delving deeply into flesh with a tattoo needle, you aren’t tattooing, you’re injecting ink into your muscles. That doesn’t do anyone any good. “Dhe’nar colored acupuncture” seems a more appropriate name.
But tattoos are not only a means of beautification for the Dhe’nar. They are also designators of status and rank.
So… they tattoo their foreheads? Or they walk around unclothed? I can’t wait to find out.
Dhe’nari Caste tattoos are made up of several parts integrated into rings of concentric circles. The innermost layer is the individual’s personal symbol. This can be nearly anything, from family crest…
Not very personal…
...to a picture that symbolizes them.
Thus the “personal symbol”, right?
The symbol is chosen very carefully, and is often the result of several years’ ponderance.
“What’s my family crest again? It’ll take me years to remember…”
Oh, and “ponderance” isn’t a word.
The next layer out is the Caste tattoo itself. This is a ring of runes stating various pieces of information. The information differs for each region. Some place only Caste, while others also integrate runes for their teachers, their compatriots in arms and other related personages. This is most commonly the outermost ring in the tattoo.
The third possible layer is added when an additional title, such as a Council seat, is achieved. It provides the seat name and the person defeated to take the seat, and often also includes the date the seat is gained or other pertinant information.
And what they had for breakfast that morning, and what color underwear they had on… Doesn’t this tattooing seem just a tad...busy? There’s only so much room on the body for one’s diary, you know.
The final ring of runes is reserved for the Highlord. It states rank, Caste, person defeated, and like the third layer, other information like date, season, etc.
Blah blah blah… And when you run out of skin, we just start sticking post-it notes with this information onto our foreheads…
Caste tattoos are always placed directly over the heart.
Oh… So all Dhe’nar always walk around with their shirts off? Combined with the headband fetish, Sharath must look like a Rambo cosplay convention.
The ceremony performed when getting the tattoo varies from place to place. Some do not recognize it…
“Oh my god, what are you doing with that needle?!”
...while others hold an elaborate service. In all places, however, the tattoos cannot be done before the Dhe’nar’s Great Hunt and the gaining of the headband.
Well, why waste your time tattooing a guy who’s about to run into the jungle naked and wrassle bars or somesuch?