Vadjyarakoi
Physical Description
The Vadjyarakoi are amongst the most fascinating and cherished sentient races of our world, at least from the perspective of historians like myself. Their physical appearance plays no small part in this, not least because the Vadjyarakoi greatly vary in their appearance, depending on if they be male or female. As such, any treatment of the Vadjyarakoi physical description will have to be broken up into two parts. We now consider the male Vadjyarakoi first.
Male Vadjyarakoi
As far as male vajyarakoi go, their appearance is distinctly recognized as not being human. They are tall and larger, with the average male generally reaching sizes four times that of the average human male. Their skin is universally pale and bluish, and often flecked with various discolorations. Early scholars originally took these skin discolorations as genetic changes in skin tone, much in the same way that various large cats have different sorts of spots. Only later was it revealed that bluish pigmentation were actually part of the Vadjyarakoi's underlying lymphatic system. Male Vadjyarakoi skin, being partly translucent, reveals these discolorations as outward hints to the inner workings of various fluid levels. It is a remarkably powerful way to read and assess the medical health of an individual Vadjyarakoi.
There are further differences in appearance, as well. Male Vadjyarakoi grow hair nowhere on their body, excepting the normal areas of the scalp, the eyebrows, and various facial regions. They also grow hair out from the region lying along the neck and down into the small of the back, terminating at the location where we humans would normally have our tail bone. This hair is very strong and soft, and has been used in all manner of applications, such as the construction of rope, various fabrics, and other things often derived from fiber. Note, however, that Vadjyarakoi hair is not seen as a luxury good, and nor is it the only sort of fiber that the Vadjyarakoi employed. The hair, when used, will always need to be dyed, as male Vadjyarakoi hair is always white, with only very young Vadjyarakoi male children having dark hair.
Besides being used for the creation of ropes and various other fabrics, the males will braid their facial hair in intricate ways, with different sorts of braids being used to signify different types of rank amongst Vadjyarakoi. The system is not limited, however, to rank, and the braids also signify various other types of information, such temporary contractual obligations, or whether a male Vadjyarakoi is currently on migration, and all sorts of different social information. Upon meeting, two male Vadjyarakoi will immediately know a great deal about each other, and this knowledge plays a large part in facilitating one of the most unusual and fascinating social systems of our time.
Of course, I have so far refrained from mentioning the one physical trait that most greatly distinguishes male Vadjyarakoi from male men, and that is the general disproportion of their forearms to their inner arms. Male Vadjyarakoi have very large, muscular forearms. Further, attached to these forearms are a sort of bone shell which sits on top of musculature and breaks through the skin in sets of large, bony outcroppings. The bones will often be filed, smoothed, and carved into elegant patterns of knots and geometric mazes, though in general they serve a more utilitarian purpose than mere ornamentation. Indeed, Vadjyarakoi use these hard forearms like heavy blunt clubs, and with their size and strength can easily uproot large oak trees by smashing them.
These clubs, combined with the male's size and strength, as well as their organized and well developed culture, produced in the Vadjyarakoi a sort of hybrid form of warrior and monastic culture that fascinates scholars to this very day.
Female Vadjyarakoi
If male vajyarakoi fascinate and intrigue scholars for their differences from humanity, then female vajyarakoi achieve the same effect, but for their similarity. Indeed, female Vadjyarakoi are reknown for their uncanny resemblance to the human feminine form. In fact, in all known contexts of human/vajyarakoi interaction, there has never been seen a female Vadjyarakoi that did not exceed the standards of beauty set forth by humans in that time. We must remember that early interactions between humans and Vadjyarakoi were set in a time in which humans had less access to technology, were more prone to disease, and in general could never reach the standards of physical perfection that were only achieved in the modern era, and with liberal use of photographic manipulation.
Female Vadjyarakoi never had the same problem. Even in those days of pastoral nomads, the Vadjyarakoi women were precisely the image of those female forms that we see today in our hyper realistic virtual pornography games. Even then, those games would have trouble keeping up. With such fertility and adherence to female form, no scholar would ever have believed that such beauty could have existed back then, simply due to technological limitations. Were it not for the fact that early photographs of Vadjyarakoi women do exist, none would have believed it, even today.
But let us go into specifics. I shall attempt to maintain some semblance of professional decorum by avoiding references to Vadjyarakoi female breasts, buttocks, and vaginas. Having said that, if the reader should like to indulge himself with the most sexually developed images of all three features, they will have answered for themselves a description of these features in the Vadjyarakoi female quite well enough for our purposes. But I digress.
Perhaps the first physical differences between females and their male counterparts is their size. The average Vadjyarakoi female is in general more petite than the average human female. Their eyes tend to be larger, and their features slightly more childlike. Vadjyarakoi females do not grow hair anywhere on their body, excepting the scalp, eyebrows, and the back of the neck running down into the base of their back, as with males. In contrast to males, however, the Vadjyarakoi females will almost always have natural highlights of color to their hair. That is to say, female Vadjyarakoi hair is almost always tri-colored, and comes in the following forms from most common to least: red-blue-black, green-yellow-black, purple-maroon-black, and the equivalent color schemes with white hair interchanged with black. In very rare occasions, female Vadjyarakoi will have two colored hair, in which case the colors will be either green-black or blue-black. There are no recorded instances of Vadjyarakoi females with single colored hair, nor with hair of colors greater than three.
To continue with a listing of physical features, Vadjyarakoi females have very smooth skin, comparable in sheen to porcelain, and as soft as crushed velvet. Their eyelashes are naturally such to produce an effect that human females can only achieve with liberal doses of mascara. I would go on, but I fear the reader may begin to suspect my professional decorum. Further, much of this description is unnecessary, and only for the purposes of having written record to go along with this article. The Vadjyarakoi are well known in today's day and age, as much of the elements of their culture can be seen within the latest VR games. The reader understands what I mean, I hope.
So let us move on to the one trait of the female Vadjyarakoi that is not hyper-realistically human and feminine: The bone structure on the forearm. In the case of females, the forearm bone structure serves almost exclusively as an ornamental device. Vadjyarakoi females lack the sort of strength to topple oaks with it, though the density of the bone does make it easy for a female to crack a human skull. In other words, the forearm bone is ornamental only in comparison to the male Vadjyarakoi. Against an unarmed human male, a Vadjyarakoi female would be able to put up a worthy fight, though victory would not be guaranteed. The bone is smaller, as well. There is no enlarged forearm, as one sees with the males, but instead the bone gives off the appearance of a sort of long glove. Later, when humans would introduce the long grieve, it would be fashionable for Vadjyarakoi females to incorporate the design of those leather gloves into the ornamental patterns of their forearm bones.
History
Unlike the Kolodrwynn, who were refugees from the old continent of Muirn in search of a new homeland, the Vadjyarakoi of the Polniegseule basin had always lived within the Polniegseule basin of the South Altayaslandern. There did exist within the lands of the Muirn the Dahrdtag, a race of remarkable physical and perhaps genetic similarity to the Vadjyarakoi of the new world, but culturally it has proven difficult to link the two races by any direct cultural connection or ethnic migration. There is some speculation as to either shared genetic heritage or perhaps some sort of event that led one race to be split into two, but most research on the subject is ongoing and yet firm. As such, the Darhdtag are currently beyond the scope of this article, and shall be looked at perhaps a bit more closely in another.
To return to the Vadjyarakoi, then, we remark that the culture they developed in that place of the Polniegseule has proved fascinating as a model of research for non human civilizations. In the millennia of their civilization, it would be unfair to say that the Vadjyarakoi had the lifestyle of nomads, though they did partake in nomadic modes of transport. Likewise, it would be completely incorrect to say that the Vadjyarakoi lived in a fashion of communism, yet to the untutored observer their lives must have been purely communist.
No, the fundamental differences in culture between the Vadjyarakoi and humans likely stems from two fundamental differences in cognitive perception. The Vadjyarakoi appear to have a completely different cognitive basis for understanding and interpreting the concepts of outside and inside. Likewise, they seem to have had the same completely different cognitive basis for understanding and interpreting the concepts of property and prestige.
The Vadjyarakoi family would often change it's residence many times throughout the lifespan of a single familial unit, which invariably consisted of a single Vadjyarakoi male and three Vadjyarakoi females, along with the group's collective children. During these migrations, the male would carry the children and his wives in the hair on his back, though his wives did not always do so, and often would walk alongside their husband, and even spread out several versts ahead as scouts. In this sense, it would seem that carrying wives in hair was done simply as a means to rest a tired wife.
The Vadjyarakoi males functioned as protectors from danger, but also as harvesters of materials and procurers of food. Unfortunately, the somewhat slow nature of the males, and their weaker inner arms in comparison to their forearms, meant that Vadjyarakoi males had less dexterity than their female counterparts. Thus, while males often served the role of brute strength and head of the household, the females functioned as builders, engineers, scouts, artisans and craftswomen. These roles were not mutually exclusive, however. Plenty of Vadjyarakoi males have been great architects and builders, and while female Vadjyarakoi often never reached the levels of power as their warrior male counterparts, there have been plenty of well known female Vadjyarakoi hunters and warriors. Because of all this, female and male roles for the Vadjyarakoi shared characteristics of both of the roles that we humans traditionally considered either purely feminine or purely masculine.
It appears that the system of migration for Vadjyarakoi was not just purely for nomadic purposes. Indeed, it seems to have played a role in the property hierarchy and commerce system of the Vadjyarakoi, and this ties into the unusual system of apparent communism. For one thing, there appears to have been a very complex system of hierarchy and social roles between Vadjyarakoi men. Goods and services could have been procured and paid for by the exchange of titles or positions of rank between the producer and the purchaser. Failing that, goods and services could also have been paid for by the performance of migrations or indulgences on the part of the producer. Indulgences would be instances of an "implied" migration, but would actually consist of having the producer stay with the purchaser and his family as a guest of sorts.
All in all, the situation would have been very odd and unusual to a human. To go into a full description of all the aspects of Vadjyarakoi culture would be out of the scope of this article, however, and so let us now turn to the first interactions of the Vadjyarakoi with us humans.
The first meetings between Vadjyarakoi and men were between slightly more advanced nomadic peoples descending south from the Reighöllen mountains. This was at a time significantly later than the first meetings between men and the Kolodrwynn, though before the first genocide perpetrated by the Kolodrwynn towards humans. These men therefore were from a different genetic and cultural stock than their western brothers. Were it not for the hasty return of the western settlers to the Reighöllen mountains, this initial separation would probably haven rise to two distinct ethnic groups.
Regardless of the relatively more sophisticated peoples coming south, however, human culture had not had time to develop nearly to the level of sophistication of the Vadjyarakoi, and thus first contact between the two races proved beneficial to humans. The Vadjyarakoi introduced to the human cultures concepts of advanced mathematics, astronomy, and architectural techniques, along with many other things like writing using brushes and the invention of paper. Vadjyarakoi also tried to teach humans magic, but humanity proved utterly unable to learn any of it, just like their western brothers who proved hopelessly incompetent at learning the magic of the Kolodrwynn.
Humans had less to offer the Vadjyarakoi, but did manage to introduce to them the concepts of animal husbandry and, in particular, the joys of fishing. And thus, from these early encounters, a friendly and amicable, and mutually beneficial system of coexistence was formed between men and Vadjyarakoi. Far from the arrogant dismissal of the Kolodrwynn towards men, the Vadjyarakoi and human races formed an early and strong friendship. This cultural exchange served as the initial soil out of which would grow a distinct and unique monastic culture in that region of the world. The interactions between Vadjyarakoi and humanity would eventually come to be embodied in the distinct human culture and nation state of Vadjyardta and the Vadjyarans.
Unfortunately, there was a poison in this early relationship. This poison would slowly spread, and turn into a cancer which would, ultimately erupt into war: The female Vadjyarakoi.
From the very beginning, men were enraptured by Vadjyarakoi women, much to the stiff resistance of Vadjyarakoi males. At first, the situation was that of an unusual form, as none knew quite what to make of it. Certainly, it was unknown if human men and vajyarakoi females could mate. The Vadjyarakoi elders and potentiates seized on this early uncertain ambivalence to enforce separation between human men and vajyarakoi females. Thus, while early encounters between human men and vajyarakoi females were much less regimented and restricted, later interactions were far more so.
Sadly, this made the situation worse. Vadjyarakoi women came to be treated as semi-divine nobility amongst men. Cultural exchanges between the two cultures produced very odd feelings on both sides. In the case of the Vadjyarakoi women, who were used to being treated more or less like second class citizens amongst their own kind, such divine worship and affection proved overwhelmingly flattering. This, in turn, led to further cultural changes within the Vadjyarakoi homelands that further strained the rights of Vadjyarakoi females. The result was a slowly tightening cycle of decreasing rights and restrictions on mobility for Vadjyarakoi females, and an increasing obsession of human men with Vadjyarakoi females.
The state of affairs could not continue, and finally, it broke. The first human and Vadjyarakoi union was the product of rape. The second was the product of infidelity. What happened afterward was a well kept secret that raced through the land and was a secret to none. A sort of calm before the inevitable storm descended, and in the months that followed, relations between humanity and the Vadjyarakoi became so frigid as to constitute a cold war.
Then, the news was heard that the two females had given birth. It should be noted that at this time there was still a chance. Human children and Vadjyarakoi children are nearly indistinguishable except for the fact that Vadjyarakoi males lose color in their hair after 5 days. The two children thus born were a female and a male, and the male child's hair remained dark well after the 7th. The news was out, and the floodgates opened. In truth, the possibility of being able to mate was founded on a pitifully flimsy excuse, but it did not matter. Human men took any excuse they could find as a means of making love to Vadjyarakoi females. Thus began the war between the Vadjyarakoi and men.
The specifics of the war are beyond the scope of this article, but needless to say, there are some interesting properties of this war that belong to no others. Human females were taken by Vadjyarakoi males and raped as a means of revenge, but the results of such actions proved not to be very effective. The biology of the human females meant that they were incapable of handling the extremely large penises of the Vadjyarakoi males, such that intercourse simply lead to internal hemorrhaging and death of the human female. Vadjyarakoi males were not attracted much either way to the human females, either, and human males seemed infinitely less concerned about their female counterparts, so long as Vadjyarakoi females were around.
The situation would have been left at that, except that this odd turn of events gave rise to one of the most curious pairings in world history. A single Vadjyarakoi male did in fact end up taking a single Human female as a wife. We do not know whether the motives of Khebirs Jhan and Vidalya Annaye were genuine or not, but it marks the one time in human history when a top general in a war against mankind was a woman. And what a woman Vidalya Annaye was.
The situation was thus as follows: Without the advancements of modern technology that humans would have in the second war against the Kolodrwynn, the battlefield was infinitely more even sided. Humans held the advantage for a time in the far north and eastern parts of the Polniegseule, which were closer to the mountains. Within the depths of the central Polniegseule basin, however, the Vadjyarakoi and their magic gave them the upper hand. The war thus ravaged both sides, and ultimately, humanity lost.
The reasons for the loss of humanity were twofold. For one thing, Human females had an actively vested interest in ensuring that men lost, possibly the only time in human history when this has ever happened. Sabotage by females within the human ranks crippled the operations of men. But what was truly the final deathblow was simply a matter of resources. Humans, having a less entrenched foothold in the basin, and being restricted to the north and eastern edges of the basin close to the mountains, simply could not access the logistics needed to win the war against the Vadjyarakoi, who had always had the basin to protect them, and always would. Eventually, the war destroyed even their most heavily entrenched settlements.
Faced with having lost everything, there were mass migrations back up north into the mountain chains. It should be noted that at this time, the eastern corridor leading to the far east was not the land of plenty and wealth that we know today, but at that time consisted only of endless deserts, and was completely ruled out as a means for human settlement. Human settlements did stay within the north and eastern edges of the basin, but they had to sue for peace with the Vadjyarakoi. The Vadjyarakoi accepted this, and allowed those humans that wished to stay. These remaining settlers were restricted only to the north and eastern parts of the basin, however, and were shattered shells of their former glory.
As for the Vadjyarakoi peoples, they retreated deep into the central polniegseule, where it was forbidden for men to tread. The Vadjyarakoi faded into history and legend, but not into myth. Too much cultural exchange had happened. Too much genetic seed had crossed lines, such that, again, our own genetic heritage remains firmly mixed with that the Vadjyarakoi, just as it became with the Kolodrwynn. Throughout history, individuals of unusual abilities have come into being, and have always left their mark on history.
But time passed. The western refugees from the Kolodrwynn genocide reunited with their southern brethren, and there humanity was confined to the outer rim, the Diegenstärk of Rieghöll, the mountains. There are two ways into the outer rim of those mountains, and only one way into the inner rim. But regardless, all ways, in or out, had been blocked, and here the situation lay for approximately 400 years.
When humanity once again overstepped their bounds and moved west and south, they had been changed beyond recognition. In the case of the western settlers, the result was the complete destruction of the Kolodrwynn peoples, as described in my article on that proud and heroic, yet tragic race. But in the case of the Vadjyarakoi, something very different happened. Men moved once again into the central Polniegseule basin, only to find that here, too, the land had changed so much as to be unrecognizable.
It was almost as if the entire forest had burned to the ground, in an it's place had been erected trees of a different sort. Unique and found nowhere else in the world, the Polneigseule Ash and Pine produced a type of pollen that bathed all things in a blanket, and cast all things in shades of bluish tones. The land was silent. Animals made no noise. Birds did not call. Even the splashing of the countless streams seemed muted, dulled. Men who ventured into those lands found themselves growing disoriented and foggy-headed as time went on. What's more, time seemed not to move in the same way. The pollen affected all those who entered with drowsiness, confusion, hallucinations, and in general intolerable mental states.
Expeditions that did manage to venture into the furthest depths of the forest found a vast structure, the size of a small mountain, partially buried within the soil. No mention of this structure ever had occurred between humans and Vadjyarakoi in the past, nor did the architecture of the structure match anything resembling or found in traditional Vadjyarakoi architecture of the past. But the most unusual thing about this state of affairs, the one mystery that eludes scholars and tantalizes all of our minds and imaginations is where did the Vadjyarakoi go?
Not a single body was found. Nor was there ever recovered so much as a fossil or bone.
