Chapter 3: RACES & REALMS Kanyaga often double as slave handlers, slowly moving up the ranks into greater positions Their merit-based hierarchy depends on production goals and observable successes in slave dominance and mastery, always at the expense of those in bondage Extreme measures are tolerated, or even seen as necessary, and the expenditure of slaves to make a point or set a savage example for the others is commonplace among the brutal kanyaga overseers Some male Pachyaur—often the undistinguished semaji—are enslaved and subsequently trained as protective warriors and defenders against rogue bulls and aggressive shamaba competitors These guvu become martial experts, cross-trained in armed and unarmed warfare against their own kind Conditioned to be merciless, guvu can be especially destructive, ferocious, and so inured to violence and death that they cannot disengage from battle until they or their foes lie dead It is impossible for a guvu to retreat from a fight and never enough to beat an opponent into submission; once an enemy enters a guvu’s sights, battle is invariably to the death Guvu report directly to the bwasana who ordered and subsidized their extensive training Unleashing one’s guvu against an enemy is a dangerous decision, for there is no recalling these forces once they embark upon a campaign As such, a shamaba’s guvu often remain on gaudy display as a terrifying weapon of ultimate destruction, their armed and unarmed drills all overt demonstrations of their power and smoldering warnings to anyone thinking of launching an attack Imhara Breeders Unique among the Watu civilization are its imhara breeders Their origin is unclear, but they have existed since primitive pre-schism times Presumably, their prodigious reproduction offered the family groups some resistance to famines and plagues of the day Whether that was a naturally occurring specialization or was somehow magically induced or enhanced is lost to history On modern Khitus, approximately one Watish birth in one hundred is an imhara, and that frequency increases during times of environmental or social pressure An imhara is grotesquely misshapen from birth, with expanded bones and considerably more flesh and body fat Once impregnated, an imhara remains perpetually pregnant, giving birth to calf after calf, each one after an unnaturally short five-month gestation period The stress on the imhara is great and she must continuously feed, but is unable to so herself Her feeding and additional care comes from other females in her family group Siblings of an imhara mother are termed imharatha, and they are closely bonded for life An imhara dies after somewhere between 15 and 25 births, and her body is ritually burned with great honor in a solemn, family-wide ceremony Customs & Culture Watu society centers upon the shamaba, or plantations of enormous slave-managed farms organized by family or extended-family groups Most Watu cities are, in fact, the central hub where several large shamaba meet Beyond this centralized, walled urban region, farmlands fan outward in all directions; block roads bordered with high, thick hedges separate one shamaba from the next • Single Commodity: Commonly, shamaba specialize in a single crop, either grains (wheat, rice, dhoru, or shell-oats) or orchard fruits (bananas, mangos, letu-apples, or choranges), though they often diversify with vegetable gardens and livestock (mainly boars or raven-hens) or even fisheries • Individuality: Despite their harsh treatment of slaves, Watu have a tolerant, progressive society Individuality is encouraged The arts such as sculpture, theater, and music are highly valued Education is abundant and varied They prize intellectual pursuits among the Pachyaur, as administration is essential to the success of their agricultural enterprises • Slow Social Change: Fashion and social rituals change slowly, but change nonetheless The introduction of a new custom is met with some resistance, but is never dismissed outright Indeed, credit for advancing a new fad or trend can improve one’s place in society Adherence to existing customs is expected, but not demanded As long as elders within a family group adhere to traditions, the young may freely participate or not as they see fit The Beastly Way The Watu share a closer kinship with their wild elephant and colossadant kin than their Brachachon rivals They can more easily communicate with them, govern their movements in the wilderness, and tame them for use as draft animals The Watu refer to this as the kubiti or “beastly way,” an emotive herding technique passed down through the generations Mastery requires a skilled tutor and many years of direct contact with the animals Through trumpeting, facial signals, and direct nudging, a pachyaura can use kubiti methods to call wild elephants and colossadants out of the bush, keep them from wandering, and herd them along More skill allows the mastery of beasts for laborious tasks without direct contact At its highest levels, kubiti allows a Wat to work his beasts cooperatively in teams for truly strenuous tasks 77