 |
| MIA Artstation |
“...
...
...
It is well known that the lifeblood of Henlbyd runs not through natural chutes, but along tracks of polished steel. You will hear the chariot of their state before you see it: its wyl-whistle strikes the mind as a bullet ricocheted off helmet brow, and it approaches. Metal mass, engines spit firing, step cycling. The air is alive, gilded and star-steam dancing.
This is the monster of the rail, the inverted solar queen, the ENGINE. A rotary locomotive of great size. One of the world's few. Five exist, each with a rich history and devoted engineering corp. Oh, the interested reader may lose themselves in the theory behind these devices for years. The pragmatic reader need only understand this: they are the key that has unlocked Henlbyd prosperity.
The ENGINE is that which traverse the Hollow Hall, that endless maze of cavernous cliffs, pockmarked stone faces, and death drops that define our world's largest and most perilous mountain range, but who walks before the ENGINE? Who blazes the first path, finds the safe routes through that treacherous wilderness.
The Pathfinders.
They are a solitary few. For years they range along developing paths, noting areas of sturdy bedrock, solid cliffs, overpasses strong enough to support the great girth of the ENGINE. When you see the great bridges of the Henlbyd rail, the courses winding in the sheer, open air between blasted mountain peaks, know that these are not divine things, but human made.
...
...
..."
“...
...
...
Children in Henlbyd are named according to what is possible, considering the parentage. A child may have a name for each parent. Two names is common, three less so, and four is rare. Not quite rare, mind. In Henlbyd society, child-rearing is a communal enterprise. Good friends will sometimes band together in order to care for a youth that is the biological child of a single member of the group.
Family names are not carried through to verbal identification. This is considered irrelevant information, almost too personal to be shared. The community of Henlbyd is so small, so narrow, that this type of relational awareness is implied or, of course, already known. Material determination of familial line can be found in the written form. If no mark is given after the personal names, the family name can be identified by the first letter of each of the personal names taken in series. If a full stop (dot) is given after the name, the family information is Default - i.e. it can be discovered through petitioning of a state clerk.
MIA (or Mia), the famous Pathfinder, provides both an example of the Default and a segue to our next topic. Mia was born as Miatalt Miator Mhaltapyd Tempat. Her parents were a group of five - one declined to add a name to the child, and all agreed that the Default should apply in case of future separation. Upon entrance to the service, she was given the moniker "Mia," which soon transformed into the field sign "MIA" (bastardized as M.I.A.) This forceful shortening of the name is not practiced by the civilian population. In the day-to-day, a lengthy name is pared down to just one name in the full set. That single name may change throughout the week (Mia may have been "Miator" on Monday, "Tempat" on Wednesday, "Miatalt" on Friday, and "Mhaltapyd" on Sunday).
...
...
..."
*************** End Record ***************
No comments:
Post a Comment