EVENTS

Relayed by the scientists of all Atys, the following announcement quickly went round the nations:

Azazor grogne en lisant l'invitation de Messedos Syagrus. Une inauguration.... pfff, comme s'il n'avait que ça à faire. Mais c'est un évènement important. Il s'agit du congrès académique de Pyr.
Il espère que Lykos et sa mère seront là. Il y a bien longtemps qu'il n'a pas vu Xania. La revoir lui ferait grand plaisir.
Et puis, il devrait y avoir surement plein d'homins de toutes les nations. Si l'akenak de Thesos n'est pas là, ça fera mauvais genre. Il sort donc son costume de l'armoire et prépare son plus beau sourir.

Congress of Kitinology (first day)

Relayed by the scientists from all over the Bark, the following announcement quickly went round the capital cities:

"Those Fyros! Can they ever make up their mind? It's pretty irritating that they move that Congress from one date to another over and over again - one wonders if this new date is the final one! Anyway, on that day I can't be in Pyr in time. Hope Filirae Zendae can make it - she's far more qualified regarding Kitinology anyway."

Salazar grabbed his vasculum, in which he also kept his paper and pencils, and gave Menthys a nod.

"Well, I'm away for a while now. Keep it tidy, Menthys. Jena Aiye - Matia Aiye."

Azazor prépare ses notes sur les kitins qu'il a pu récupérer de-ci de-là, notamment cette copie de l'ouvrage des orskos "les caractéristiques de combat des kitins" et les plans des kitinières qu'il a établi avec les Légions Fyros.

Il y aura Daeronn Cegrips à cette conférence. Il a déjà lu quelques trucs de lui à la bibliothèque. On lui doit entre autre l'étude de la kitinière de desertstock. Cela promet d'être passionnant!

Introductions by Tao Sian

Tao Sian
Kamia' ata Homins et homines. It is with great pleasure that I accepted the Empire's invitation to chair this Congress of Kitinology, during which we will have the honour to hear reports from some of the most eminent researchers in kitin entomology.
To begin with, we'll hear Dixie Keale from the Federation, a specialist of the kinchers who has been studying them for many years now, braving all the dangers of the Loria. She'll tell us about the pheromone markings used by kitins.

Tao Sian applauds, soon to be emulated by the other speakers.

Dixie Keale stands up and warmly greets the assembly.

Dixie Keale
Lordoy ad toll! I am very pleased to be here with you.

Daeronn Cegrips
Do specify, my dear Sian, that she is the daughter of that old fellow Ardan! Who, obviously, doesn't dare to show up in front of me anymore!

Dixie Keale coughs, one hand on the chest.

Dixie Keale
Ha, ha, ha! Kof, kof!
Don't you fear rather that he will return from expedition with lucios of a queen, while you are boasting in public?

Daeronn Cegrips
Oh yes? A lucio of a queen sipping with him in the same keg of beer maybe? But he'd have to come back in one piece, yet! How is he doing, by the way?

Dixie Keale
Waah! I don't count anymore the times I have ended up being cut in half. If you're worried about losing an arm, switch jobs, old man!

Daeronn Cegrips laughs gently. Mona di Fareni looks horrified.
 
Tao Sian
You worry me a little, Dixie-miko… Don't be too zealous on the field…

Dixie Keale
I am in great shape Ny-tala!

Dixie Keale smiles while containing a coughing fit.

Tao Sian
Well... Daeronn Cegrips, eminent naturalist scientist of the Empire, does not have to be introduced.
He will explain us the specialization of kitins, based on the diet of their larvae…

Daeronn Cegrips
And on eggs, my dear Sian! It all begins with eggs!

Daeronn Cegrips walks forward, full of energy.

Yes, indeed! I discovered the importance of geodesic placement of eggs on the features of the larvae to hatch! Do you know, for example, that…

Tao Sian interruptes while raising a hand as a sign of appeasement.

Tao Sian
Daeronn-ito! Wait, kai bini! For the time being, I'm still introducing the speakers.

Daeronn Cegrips
Oh yes, of course! Apologies, introduce my dear! In-tro-du-ce!

Daeronn Cegrips returns to his place.

Tao Sian
Ari' kami, and I am rejoicing at the discoveries you are going to teach us.
 
Tao Sian applauds.

From the Kingdom comes Duchess Mona di Fareni, a specialist in intelligent life forms. She will report her findings on studies of kitin communication.

Tao Sian applauds.

Mona di Fareni stands up, chin high raised.

Mona di Fareni
Thank you very much, it is an honor for me to exchange with you. I expect from this congress a healthy competition and I hope the confrontation of our points of view will not fail to open up new prospects.

Tao Sian
Ari' kami, and to conclude our exchanges I will speak to you about the Sap that flows in each creature, and about a peculiarity we have in common with the kitins.

Dixie Keale's intervention

Dixie Keale
I've been observing the Kinchers of Loria for many years now, and certainly there are some homins among the audience who have, already passed through and seen me there!

As a reminder, the kincher is a very robust, fast, and particularly dangerous, scout-hunter.
As scouts they attack everything they encounter, chew it, and regurgitate a juice that serves as a marking for other kitins. Depending on these markings, the others distribute themselves over the area to exploit its resources.

These markings are rather persistent concentrates of pheromones, which can be collected and preserved in a flask during one day .
Using these samples, I built up a method to produce lures that attract other kinchers for hunting, or kibans for harvesting.

I tried for a long time to isolate particular signals in these markings before deducing that these rotten kinchers do not think about anything except attacking, chewing and drooling!
The composition of a marking is passive, depending only upon what they have just chewed. It is certainly from the residues it contains that other kitins adopt one behavior or another.

Currently, I'm trying to alter the markings by addition of a dilution of oil and sap, and I observe the resulting effect on the occupation of the field by the kitins.

Mona di Fareni
What's interesting to note is that these markings are like an amber cube which all other kitins in the area come to read. So they could be for us a vector of control, by poisoning, for example. How do you feel about that?

Tao Sian
Ah! If I understood properly, other kitins recognize in the marking of the kincher the elements it ingested. But would that be all? Would it not add the signal of some kind of "contentment" that it would have had in chewing this element?

Daeronn Cegrips’ intervention

Daeronn Cegrips
My last expedition in the kitins' lair of Almati allowed me to carry out measurements and observations in the brood chamber, more precisely called "Prime Eggs Room".

This room is a remarkable architectural work where everything seems to be done to maintain an absolutely stable atmosphere. There is not the slightest draft of air; so much so, that you can even sense the slight trail of turbulence caused by the quiet ballet of the Kipees.

This stability has the effect of stacking the ambient air in layers, so substantially that as you move across the hollows and bumps you can clearly feel the variation of the thermal gradient.

The eggs are laid out in regular packs on a line against the wall at the bottom of each of the two basins forming the room, and practically all at the same level.

And these kitin eggs, did you watch them carefully? Unfortunately nothing to do with our goari eggs which provide succulent omelets! Oblong in shape, as tall and wide as a Tryker, the kitin egg is held vertically by its root base. It is therefore immovable.

And is there anything as odd, as strange, as this rooted egg or planted egg, unless it's a planted egg or a budding egg? I haven't decided yet.
But in the way the roots intertwine with the base of the egg, there is a good chance that this base is much more than just a nest and that, via this link to the Bark, the egg feeds.

He remains silent for a moment while he looks into the distance.

Was I talking about a nourishing omelet? Well, just picture that one day I met an incredible Frahar who was really the champion at stealing eggs from goaris! It was in the Dunes of Aelius, where I…

A great noise is made in the assembly... Be' Doyty Libby rushes in like a shot.

Be' Doyty Libby
ALERT! ALERT! HELP! MY SUPERGENERATOR GOARI ESCAPED!

The goari she intended to use to display her new electric generator escaped and ran ragingly into the streets of Pyr. While the goari was supposed to charge the generator, the opposite happened and the poor animal turned on in this way became very aggressive. Homins run to stop it before it does any damage, then come back to the conference.

Tao Sian
Unfortunately, this incident has taken us some time and we still have two more pesentations to hear for this conference, so I think we have to move forward. Daeronn-ito, can you quickly conclude your speech, Kai' bini?

Daeronn Cegrips
What speech, my dear?

Dixie Keale bursts in a laugh that turns into an uncontrollable cough flush, then spits blood out.

Tao Sian
Dixie-miko!! I insist for you to come and see me for a private consultation immediately after this session!

Dixie Keale
Heu... Oy Ny-tala.

Tao Sian turns back to Daeronn.

Tao Sian
But your interesting speech on kitin eggs, ito! Temperature, roots…

Daeronn Cegrips
Oh, this! Well, to make it short, I'd say you don't make omelets without breaking eggs... I have to get back to the field!

Tao Sian
Um… Zo'ari'kami ito, but be careful, I beg you.
She watches Dixie again from the corner of her mask.

Mona di Fareni
I agree with the interest expressed by my colleague and strongly encourage him to join forces with a botanist to unravel the mystery of these roots.

Tao Sian
Great suggestion, Mona-miko… And keep the floor, please, it's your turn.

Mona di Fareni's intervention

Mona di Fareni solemnly advances a step.

When we talk about intelligent life forms, we can easily misapprehend the criteria.
The usual reflex is to seek in the creature equivalence to what we homins are.
This is a beginner's mistake, but it is yet the pitfall that even the most seasoned biologist must strive to avoid.
We are naturally tempted to consider the animal with which we can establish communication as "intelligent".

The mektoub is a good example of such an animal, which can be trained to understand certain orders, but which is also able to experience feelings and to share affection. Folklore gives us several testimonies of that, doesn't it?

But if judged by this criterion, the kitin is at the bottom of the scale. Proof of that is found in the kipucka from the depths captured by the S.K.A. and confined to a gallery in the Arena. This one is little more than a stomach on legs.

By reflex, he ingests the amount of food provided to him, but he does not attempt to escape, dig, or even simply attack. Of course, it does not react to any classical attempt at communication or training. It is empty, devoid of any intention except for the primary functions that keep it alive. Apathy caused by lack of stimulus. Or, should I say, appropriate stimulus....

That is the difference between kitin and homin.

The homin, endowed with a powerful intellect, is defined by this self-consciousness. From that position it uses complex language to share its thoughts from individual to individual. But overall, even within society, it remains itself.

As for the kitin, it is nothing as an individual. Yet, building on the sum of multiple small interactions between individuals, their association leads to another form of intellect, untouchable by us, very difficult to conceptualize. But among kitins, any resultant sum of individuals ALWAYS goes up!

One would be tempted to imagine their Queens as holders of their intellect. They undoubtedly have a major role in a colony, but from this to consider them as the decision-making brain… I think that this is only our erroneous projection, modeled on our own nature.

To communicate, the kitin uses different kinds of pheromones, each associated with a specific function. Tracking and alert, but also identification, as we know since Ser Keale discovered the existence of other colonies.

But that's not all, let's not forget that the kitin also emits sounds, intended for its relatives nearby or to terrorize its prey.

These are mechanisms that can be perceived. It's well crafted, surprising, intelligent, but… not enough to detect there an alphabet, words, and even less a language or a thought! The mystery of their invisible intellect remains; and exceptionally brilliant will be he - or she - who one day succeeds in deciphering it.

In short, all this was what I was convinced of until Karavan shared with us the report on the "Kipesta Ambassador".

This large, bright blue mutant kipesta is a concentration of pheromone transmitters and receptors of unknown nature distributed throughout the body.

In addition, I was able to obtain other details: the flapping of its three pairs of wings, in addition to keeping it in suspension, could produce signals carried by variations in accessory vibrations.

Unfortunately we lack a device that can make those signals audible to us homin beings. The fact remains that the variety of signals and their potential combinations allow us to envisage the existence of an extensive vocabulary.

The conclusion of the report corroborates this hypothesis by assuming that this kipesta is an inter-colonial ambassador. As Ser Keale taught us, two colonies are not necessarily friends, far from it.

In other words, between two colonies, we do not inevitably have a hierarchical relationship, but rather confrontation, or via ambassadors, negotiation. And to negotiate, you need some kind of language…
As a scientist, I find all of this fascinating and exciting...

... But if it proves true that the kitins have a double form of intellect, then as a homin being, I can tell you that you may well sharpen your axes and polish your armor... We are in a bad place! A very bad place! I have chills in my back just thinking about it…

She puts her hand on her chest before returning to her place.

Dixie Keale
About the white kipucka, Nair-tala, and its lack of stimuli, I can probably help you. Have me sent a handful of volunteers and I'll employ them to prepare a cocktail of pheromones to put under its nose! It'll be propelled to the ceiling, ha, ha!

Daeronn Cegrips
You almost scared me, dear colleague. But please remain optimistic. So far we've always survived. Let us keep faith in our research and defense capabilities. And if the kitins have a language, you'll be the one to decipher it. Ah! But you have quoted that scoundrel Ardan twice in your speech... know that gave me great disappointment.

Mona di Fareni
I intend to continue my research by making the best use of the gift Jena granted me. But if you want to think about the worst... Perhaps while we are studying them, the kitins are studying us as well.

Announcement

Relayed by the scientists from all over the Bark, the following announcement quickly went round the capital cities:

Missive addressed to the members of the S.K.A.

(*) [OOC] Sunday, 4 February 2018 20:00:00 UTC (7 years ago)

Zendae's intervention, for S.K.A.

Vaye di SKA

This book, written by volonteers of SKA, comes from the raison d'être of this last,
which is studing the kitin in order to better fight them, control them.
This is what symbolize the wonderfull picture of the cover, done by Ser Osquallo.
The concept under Vaya di SKA, is to have a precize base of their fighting characteristics.

Beside, we added the general information known at this day for each kitin. And I added to this my comment as mistress of Arms, with for each kitin the bests ways to kill it di amataki.
This results in a unique publication, which in addition of detailing each specimen, allows to have a general view and do comparisons.
This does not replace the own experience that a fighter build himself, but it may improve his efficience. What we wanted is to have a base to build our tactics.

The Vaya di SKA, translated in three dialecte, was introduced at the chamber of nobles, and later to the Rangers, so that it would be spreaded in each nation.
So was our wish di amatakizo.

To make all those field plans, it's not easy believe me. We have to develop reliable methods, repeatable in similar conditions.
For all what is evaluating the attack of a kiin, we must not interfere by dodging nor figthing back.
Also the best why is to endure its attacks seated in front of him, with the support of a healer.
We have to use magic, more precize than weapons for evaluating the damages done to our targets.
As we could'nt have time precision under the second, the plans needed to be taken over a time long enought to neglect the imprecision.
And last, we have to make a same plan minimum three times to insure the quality of the measure.

What is clear after analysing the data, is that the admited role of each kitin inside the colony is confirmed by their measured characteristics di amataki.

For example,
kincher : hunter and scout. Very tought, very fast, long range of detection.
kirosta : soldier. Powerfull, strong group instinct, it defends the other kitins.
kinrey, kidiniak : kitins d'élites. Higher striking pace, reinforced protections. etc, its pretty logical.

By the way, those data will maybe help the scientists to statuate about the kipucka : worker or soldier ? It was always fuzzy di amatakima.

Does kitins have a weak point ? yes, taken separatly. I recommend you to read the book to know which ones di amataki.

But we need often two people at least to exploit the weakness of a sole kitin. Yet the firt strong point of kitins, it's their number. And do not let us blind there is no miraculous weak point.

This is to end some simple advices to equip oneself against kitins :
- Cover yourself from perforating damage.
- Use the best weapon according to the kitin, but be aware that mastering a perforating weapon is often mandatory.
- Wear a jewal set with the right protections : electricity, poison, acid, fire, and forest resistance.
- Don't forget how to cast a cold spell.
- Cover your partners.

Tao Sian Lecture

Tao Sian
“Dear colleagues, I would like to reiterate the pleasure I feel being of with you today and I thank the Imperial Academy for organizing this conference.”

Tao Sian puts her healer’s bag on her shoulder, rolls up her sleeves and moves forward, an attitude that suddenly gives her great authority.

“My knowledge about Kitins is really modest compared to yours, I am first and foremost a healer dealing with homins’ suffering.

However, a little by chance, I discovered something that left me in a great perplexity and that I have to share with you.

But to this end, let me first explain a part of my new protocol for the follow-up of homins suffering from the Evil. A necessary detour.

In our bodies flows Qi-zi, the sap sometimes called the blood. Because more exactly, the blood is clearly visible as soon an injury occurs while the sap can only be felt, by using magic especially. In a healthy body, blood and sap flow together in harmony between organs and to the limb extremities. More precisely, the sap is carried by the blood and therefore can always be found in abundance in this fluid. I will give you a demonstration in a few moments.

The Evil, the one in my country, destroys our bodies by infecting the sap, which then causes inflammation and cascading damage to the organs. The body will struggle through terrible sufferings until the seed of life is reached. Paradoxically, an initially healthy body, “full of sap” is all the more likely to be invaded by the Evil, if an internal contamination occurs. Our Kami companions, pure magical beings, are also extremely vulnerable.

In order to relieve the sufferings, I developed a method to slightly ‘sleep’ the patient’s sap. It is very delicate because if the sap is too weak, other problems appear, affecting first of all the respiratory functions but it relieves inflammations and, in the very rare favourable cases, it allows the body to better fight the Evil.

To control what I do - because it's walking on the razor's edge - I have to precisely know every day the proportion of sap in the patient’s blood, to go on ‘sleeping’ the sap or not.

But as the sap is invisible, I have a ritual to quantified it indirectly and, by the way, it allows a follow-up of the internal contamination.”

She takes out of her bag a kind of small bowl with a conical bottom and scrupulously cleans it with a cloth.

“The ritual is simple, although you have no idea how many years it took me to achieve this protocol. I draw a small amount of blood from the patient and I measure its weight very precisely.”

She gives a quick motion of her other wrist across the edge of the bowl, which turns out to be sharp. She lets her blood flow a little while mumbling a prayer. Then the cut is suddenly closed, a characteristic sign of the use of self-regeneration.

“I put a little Psykopla’s bud in the fluid. It acts as a catalyser.”

She does what she’s describing.

“Then, sitting in a meditation position, I swing the bowl regularly, so as to rotate the fluid along its wall and the bud in the middle and I focus exactly on the bud with a Sen’oqi Bawaa’qi spell, which means a spell of slow moving with low power that is made without gesture in a continuous manner and with only a subtle concentration.”

She is already seated to perform the ritual, and goes on chanting inaudible words.

“Little by little, a part of the blood will coagulate all around the bud and after about 3 minutes, the remnant blood will not coagulate, even if I go on or do it again.”

Although visibly very focused, she manages to talk to her audience while performing her ritual. Homins can progressively hear something rolling in the bowl.

She stops and take out her bag two sticks with her free hand. Her gesture is incredibly assured.

“I take the clot out of the bowl with the sticks. It's as if this part of the blood has vitrified around the bud.”

She removes from the bowl a beautiful little red stone with shimmering reflections and exhibits it to the assembly.

“For a contaminated patient, attentive examination of the clot gives me information about the extent of the disease and by comparing from day to day, I manage to discover whether the patient’s condition is stabilizing or not.

I weigh the remaining blood that didn’t coagulate. It’s the part without sap, the xiao’qi-zi. For a healthy body, its proportion is variable, between 46% and 54% of the initial amount of blood. With 58%, homins suffocate and, in my opinion, beyond 60% homins cannot live.
During his lifetime, the Sage Season had consented to let me evaluate the composition of his qi-zi. The Da’qi-zi, the proportion of sap or “magic blood” was exceptional : the two-thirds. For me it explains his so unusual metabolism!”

She puts away the pearl in a compartment of her bag, puts away the sticks, throws the little blood which is left onto the floor as an offering, wipes the bowl and puts it away.

“One day I was called in emergency, because Cai-Ci Luoi, hunter in Haven of Purity, was found seriously wounded, trapped under a huge capryni that he had the recklessness to attack alone and barely defeated. It's always tricky when a wound lags, but Luoi just had a broken leg and wasn't in danger. But seeing the scene, I thought I should also evaluate animal qi-zi, by scientific duty.
After taking care of Luoi, I collected some of the blood from the fallen creature and then went to my sokna-hay to perform the ritual.

After one single minute, I was already surprised by the speed of the clotting.
After two minutes, I had to stop because the clot was too big and the rest of the fluid was too pasty for me to swing it in the bowl. It was as if the blood of this animal was composed only of Da'qi-zi!

Cai-Ci Luoi, who wanted to thank me so much for saving him from becoming crippled for the rest of his life, was delighted that I charged him with the mission of delivering some qi-zi of each species of his hunting field, with assistance this time! At the same time, I asked Haido Xuan, the dynastic gardener, to get me samples of sap or fluid (juice) from jungle plants that she could find.

After two weeks, the results were the same: the qi-zi from animals or plants is always a da’qi-zi. Initially it was only for the Jungle but since then I have been able to diversify my tests and I haven’t found any exceptions yet.

I do beg your pardon because I haven’t spoken about kitins yet, you can feel it, I’m about to but before, I impose you a last digression, a spiritual one this time.

Why do we, homins, have less sap than the rest of Ma-Duk's creation? I was meditating.

The answer gave me great joy. An izam or a slaveni are part of Ma-Duk, as a Kami, it’s innate to them. But a homin will be a part of it only at the culmination of the path to enlightenment. Everything made sense. Ochi Kami no!

But later I realized that Cai-Ci Luoi has forgotten to bring me back some kitin Qi-zi! Which, besides, he retorted when I came back to see him, that I had asked him for animal blood yet ‘a kitin is not an animal but a kitin’. Yui. Of course.

I apologised profusely and for the next few days he diligently brought me back kitin blood samples.

The result of my ritual on this blood led me to believe in a joke from the kami: although completely different from ours, the kitin qi-zi is also separable in xiao’qi-zi and da’qi-zi.

About half and half, exactly like homin qi-zi. So Cai-Ci Luoi is right.

I'm sure that my first intuition has some high degree of truth, but objectively, I admit that I don't have all the answers! I leave everyone to meditate on the meaning of my discovery.”

Announcement

Relayed by the scientists from all over the Bark, the following announcement quickly went round the capital cities:


[OOC] Sunday, 11 February 2018 20:00:00 UTC (7 years ago) [/OOC]