The Shivasii

 In sections like this, I start to post the things I am actually creating for my stories.  Its here that I am the most interested in feedback from readers.  Criticisms of the constructive sort are really appreciated.

Appearance

   Shivasii (pronounced she-va-se) are the tallest known civilised bipeds on Taleasia.  Standing anywhere from 2.5m to 3.0m, the Shivasii are powerfully built, with very dense bone structure and musculature, reflecting the “Slave Origin Theory” (see histories, below).
During early interactions between humans and Shivasii, the Shivasii were called Drakes, reflecting their generally draconic appearance.  They have elongated necks, snouts (snouts are one of two ways to tell a Shivasii apart from his brothers), and four prehensile, grasping, digits on each hand, complete with sharp bone claws.  The eyes are mounted on the sides of their heads with a 55-65 degree overlap, providing a wider scope of binocular vision than humans.
The majority of Shivasii have vestigial tails (no more than 0.25m-0.50m long) and noticeable, non-functioning wings.  These are usually attributed to a vestigial evolutionary trait, but some experts contend that the Shivasii do, in fact, use these wings for some sort of glide.
While the shape, length, and width of a Shivasii snout is one factor in distinguishing individuals, scale hue is the second.  Colours of Shivasii scale range all across primary colour spectrum (ROYGBIV), occurring in various shades and depths.  Most families share chromatic similarities, but rarely are they identical.
    Approximately ten percent of offspring are born Vrah’mi (translated literally as blessed with gifts).  The Vrah’mi are physically diminutive compared to the baseline Shivasii, but are also the only Shivasii who are able to grasp both the subtlety of science and the divinity of magic.  These techno-mages are the de facto rulers of the Shivasii.

Culture & Religion

    In Shivasii, Culture is synonymous with Religion (this is true linguistically.  Religion in Shivasii is shii’tru and Culture in Shivasii is shii’tru va, where va translates as life).  The Shivasii are extremely xenophobic to the degree of being xeno-belligerent; Shivasii religion encourages purity, preaching the “Blessed and sacrosanct va of the Shivasii” and outlines the ways that the purity of one’s va must be protected.
    Shivasii are warned, in their ancient teachings, against the ”impure taint of the lesser being, the heretic, the exile, and the lame.”  Doctrine demands the slaughter of children born with any noticeable defects; “lesser beings” (such as humans) are usually killed on sight, with the exception of diplomats who are just sent away with a warning (warnings, in Shivasii usually involve losing a finger).  Heretics are never tolerated, and those “Heretics” of high enough influence (sons and daughters of leaders, or those who would just become martyrs) are exiled to the main lands of the human, forced to spend their remaining days in a sea of impurity.
    The Shivasii are a very practical people in all things, especially religion.  They have no temples, rather community centres.  They worship the va of all things; killing is condoned, but requires praise.  Hunters, farmers who slaughter livestock, even the warriors who kill heretics and encroaching humans must tithe for forgiveness. 
    The Shivasii God does not follow the same principles as most other religions in Taleasia.  While humans, and the sundry sub-civilised peoples worship a plethora of gods, the Shivasii worship the energy of the universe.  They worship the shek’va, or World Life, which they feel is responsible for all things in the universe.  The shek’va creates good, evil, life, creativity, hatred, and all things except death, which is attributed to the counter-concept of shek’cre, World Death.
    The tenets of the Shivasii faith create a very strict hierarchy in society.  The Vrah’mi rule from above, their abilities in science and magic making creating a form of techno-theocracy.  They assign absolute power to the demands of the shek’va, which they claim their powers and knowledge allow them to communicate with.
    Directly below the Vrah’mi are the Shi’sa, the body of the people.  Any individual can petition to enter the Shi’sa, and after rigorous tests and challenges, they are assigned to any one of the administrative branches of the people.
    Next to the Shi’sa, sharing equal power is the Shi’vsa, the arm or the people.  Only the strongest Shivasii enter the ranks of the Shi’vsa, becoming great warriors and defenders of the purity.
    The remainder of the population, the Shi’sii are farmers, merchants, and the assorted workers of society.  Placements in one of the castes of Shivasii culture can happen as early as birth (in the case of the Vrah’mi) but more usually it occurs in adolescence, during the rites of passage all Shivasii participate in.

    In regards to Shivasii family life, they do mate for life, but do not have any rituals.  The females maintain true dominance in all things, and are in fact the larger of the species and the dominant hunters.  Females are the rulers of Shivasii society to a large degree, with the exception that both male and female Shivasii can become Vrah'mi.

Geography

    The Shivasii occupy the Erudi Island Chain, situated on the southwestern edge of the Great Bay.  While they have made attempts at expansion, most recently the colonisation (and subsequent expulsion) of territories under the dominion of Coventry upon Bry.
    The Erudi Island Chain is probably one of the more desolate sections of known Taleasia, at least by human standards.  The soil is not satisfactory for farming, and there are no conventional forests.  The Needlespire Forest, on one of the largest islands in the chain, consists of the dense, quasi-metallic, needlespire tree, which grows approximately five metres tall and branches very little.
    The island chain is, however, well suited to the Shivasii, who subside on diets of fish and game.  The island’s second largest species, the spiny-ridged boar, is the staple of Shivasii diet, followed closely by the blue-finned oceanic grouper.
    Shivasii have not built many cities, rather they rely on numerous small towns called rooks, where a dozen large family units will reside.  The exception is Kre’rin, a medium sized central island in the chain, which has flourished as a city of its own.  Kre’rin is said to be the most beautiful natural sight in Taleasia, where the Shivasii have combined the natural rock spires of the island with their technology and magic to create a stunning city.

History

    The “official history” of the Shivasii states that, in the depth of time, they were the first creators of empire on Taleasia before humanity had even crawled out of their caves.  They spanned the two great continents and dominated everything under their heel.
    To this day, the Shivasii claim to have built the Monoliths of the Croucous plains, the Great Walls of the Caminus mountain range, and the ancient roads that crisscross the two great continents in varying states of disrepair.
    However, the Shivasii – or at least those in exile – cannot justify this historical interpretation with the evidence at hand.  How, then, can a species who claims to have held dominance over a world, now reside on a small chain of islands? 
    Most Shivasii would claim it was the will of the shek’va, or the punishment of shek’cre (interpretations vary) and that would be enough for most Shivasii. 

    Evidence from archaeological digs in Wod’s Crook, Solsis Hill, and the Barrow Terraces suggest a new theory of Shivasii origins.  The “Slave Origin Theory,” postulated by Charlston Kenth, Lord Grenok, suggests that the Shivasii are in fact the first builders of Empire, but nothing more than that.  They were, Lord Grenok claims, the well-bred, or well built, slaves of a yet unknown empire.
    Lord Grenok supports this by pointing out the drive to perfection in Shivasii culture and religion, which he links to a need for the perfect slave in construction.  It also explains, he claims, why the Shivasii don’t have colonies across the two continents.
    Whatever the true history is, many aspects will remain shrouded in mystery, either due to the xenophobia of Shivasii, or due to the lack of empirical evidence from current scientific study.