The most ancient of races is thought to be the Lar Chamlek. On average taller than Deerless with pigmented skin and galactic eyes, they were purported to have incredible knowledge and power in the ancient world. They occupied the western half of modern Marcwith with the Creeping Desert as an eastern border and the sea to the northwest. Although their culture remains, for the most part, a mystery, there are a few traces left of them in Io.
Etymology
Mazinodenga (MAH-zin-oh-den-GA) was the name given to them by the uembians; giving them the formidable title “Teeth of Heaven”. From the few Westerners that were left alive at the end of the 11th century, however, there is plenty of written evidence to show they were peaceful people who made no war with their neighbors in recorded history. The last Westerners were called Isihambi, Yatari, Reiziger, and by several more names synonymous with ‘traveler’ or ‘stranger’. In spite of these titles the Westerners were welcome wherever they went, functioning as doctors and teachers, spreading news and culture. In most countries, the death of a Lar Chamlek would prompt a day of silent respect until well into the 1200’s, by which time Mazinodenga people had established a small presence in Asiri Asa. There they found work in sideshows and were given the moniker 'Westerner' in reference to the area's romanticizing of the continent on the other side of the world.
History
It seems that typically, it was customary to burn written and visual representations of a Westerner upon their departure from Io, perhaps having to do with their belief system. What is clear through remaining texts are only a few features. Like traditional uembians, they either had no body hair or else practiced complete hair removal. There is no record of Westerner children or elderly. Adults wore clothing only around their groins. They walked with an air of floating and moved gracefully, their movements were referenced as a direct opposition to clunky humans movements.
Precious few ruins remain of the Westerners. For many years the sights of their old towns, although no longer inhabited, were sacred to the inhabitant of Marcwith. No visitors from Erebus were allowed inside, and it was guarded with the same ferocity of Iokeihiko itself. However, as the last remaining Westerners died off, the turbulent political climate of Marcwith saw the flight of many mixed race cultures to the relative safety of the ruins. These ruins were eventually destroyed in the many conflicts that plagued the era, leaving less than shards of pottery. No one has been able to find a Westerner grave sight, nor are there any remains of their structures. While this could mean they were utterly decimated or that their structures were non-permanent, many in the area consider it an act of resentment. The Westerners, annoyed by the damage done to their homeland, took away their culture and left only the masks.
Some hypothesis that the children and elderly of the Lar Chemlek lived separate from the adults for spiritual or health reasons. Others point out that records of the indigo man’s death put him at nearly 200 years old.
Biology
With blue-toned skin and deeply saturated markings it is clear to see their close relationship to the uembian and Deerless populations. It is unknown if the Westerners had, like uembians, many hues of skin or if they were all a deep sea-blue. The only Westerner described in detail is The Indigo Man from the famed circus Artur Booptee’s Curiosities.
In all other respects they were physically near identical to humans and Deerless save one; their eyes were spectacular and strange. Unlike the combination of a scalera, pupil, and iris, the Westerner eyes had a completely different makeup that suggested a very different internal system. Having no bodies to study and few reports to glean information from it is difficult to say how their eyes functioned – if they functioned for traditional sight at all. The eyes of the Indigo Man, at least, were frequently described by those who met him in person. The most quoted expression comes from the poet Zindae, who described meeting the Westerner for the first time in Consolidations; “…the Indigo Man’s eyes were far off…[his] liquid pupils dancing like so many galaxies turning in the sky.” Other sources describe Westerner eyes as tiny drops of black oil swimming in a deep pond, or like ink the first moment it is dropped into water.
The Masks of Mazinodenga
The dense forests of the western territories of Marcwith have given up few secrets of the ancient peoples that resided there. The most significant discovery raises more questions than it answers, making the Masks of Mazinodenga one of history’s greatest unknowns.
Found from as far south as Monument, Southern Marcwith, and as far north as Swell, Orom, masks have been unearthed in archeological digs. Shockingly, there seems to be no cohesive style in these masks or single representation, some are primitive in design and others extensively carved. Art Historians, with the help of recent advances in carbon-dating, have divided the masks into three categories.
1 – elaborate early
2 – primitive early
3 – non-representational
Recently, however, this traditional system has come under scrutiny. The finding of the Causeway Mask shows that the cannon involving primitive early actually existed before elaborate early, and even suggests that non-representational could have predated that.
Commentaires