DIVERSITY

     

    “What is this guy ?” On a world where exist sigraxes and mages capable to modify their bodies, and the bodies of others, using spells; other mages capable to generate new living species from the deep abyss of their imaginations; where youwill  find diseases capable to deform people beyond imagination; and where people from countless Universes are throwed  without chance to go back, and magic allows individuals from  species that should not have any chance of reprodution with each other to have fertile children; on a world like that, sometimes the common man will not find the answer for the question “What is this guy?” without some investigation.

    During my time on Black Centaur the range of variation amoung the population of Sharitarn was only one idea. There almost everybody is human, both professors and students; most are natives from Lutianen, some iis (involuntary immigrants) like myself or descendants of iis: humans neither the less. Civilized instituitions capable to from ‘true mages’ are basicly for citzens and people who intend to try became citzens. They can only teach the ones born with the potential for magic. On top of that, they are with very little exceptions “human only”.

   Every intelligent species will produce some individuals with magical potential, and those individuals have a chance to became able to use same magical Ways any other individual with the potential can. To survive and keep control over their planet the native humans must keep control over all places capable to form mages. Sigrax can be civilized or wild, humans or not, in the end of day we sigraxes make little diference when it cames to global scale.                   

   I’m not proud to admit, but that aspect of Sharitarn impacted me once I left the Castle. Specially in the streets and pubs near to the Port.  

   Despite the fact that I knew what I should expect, the real experience was more than I could digest during a few weeks. However, being from Earth I had learned that mention physical diferences between people is rude: on Earth we all know perfectly well the place of each one in the unspoken caste system, but no one mention it outloud. Here on Sharitarn, on the contrary, they hierarchy between castes is always in dispute; and everybody talks about “who is what” without  scandal. No one fears to say “I don’t like Giants”,  or “lizard men are idiotic”, there is no shame in dislike a group of people or consider other less intelligent: the second position can be contradicted by facts (theoretically, but in that case I don’t recommend), but the first one is personal matter, no one has the obligation to like you or anyone else here on Sharitarn.

   Eventually I noticed that was not just because I was from Earth that I could not say if someone was a human modified by magic or a ii from a non human species. Even High Caste people born and raised on cosmopolitan metropolis sometime get confuse.

    Any Scholar Caste adult is supposed to recognize the iis, as far as the populations from Universes ‘tuned” by the vortex are concerned. Some Mage Caste and  some Warrior Caste fellows claim the capacity to do the same. Problem is: the vortex don’t bring only populations from such universes. Sometimes the vortex brings only one, or a few, individuals from a given Universe; to never touch it again.  Usually (but not always ) this lonely iis came from Universes were magic is more common, and Xar more abundant than it is on this  Universe.  No one can know every single species brought by the vortex from Universes never tuned by it.

    That guy with spikes and claws, is he a nomadic hunter modified by his tribe’s wild sigrax or a ii from a Universe never tuned by the vortex? The bald slave girl with four arms being sold by him, she is a female from his specie, a High Caste human lady from Mibavan with two symbionts designed to work and look like arms, or her kind was created by a mage one century ago?   

      Those questions may sound merely academic, and on some lands_ places like Port Alkavalla, a non human city between the Sorrowfull River and the Giant Mountains_ they actually are. However, several places (current Lutianen included) have laws limitating the access to some rights and positions to citzens who are not iis. Nations will ban anyone involved with magic, either modified or created by it, but will not care if you came from the vortex or not. Some others accept any human; modified by magic or not, ii or native from Sharitarn; but will kill at sight any intelligent non human they find on their territory. Know “who is what” sooner or later will prove to be a serious matter for a traveler on Sharitarn.

    To a sigrax with some basic Divination Spells that a problem easy to solve, under most circunstances and when there is no magic working to hidde the informations. However, sigraxes are rare. Most people on this planet never saw one of us. When magic is not on the table, how you know what the guy with spikes and the girl with four arms are?

    When uncertain about the nature of someone, most groups will assume the worse. They rarelly go as far as kill someone they aren’t sure to belong to the group they want to kill, but they will warn the fellow to leave and never came back: once.  Anyone stupid enough to came back after that will be killed for trespass. Go where yo know that you are not welcome, and be caught doing that, is reason enough to deserve death; according to basicly everyone on this planet.  

   As long there is no law involved which would make one or other answer dangerous for the fellow, there is always one alternative. If you don’t know “what is this guy”, go and ask him.

   Often you will get a answer more extensive and detailed than you wanted. Especially when, beyond anything else, this guy is a merchant.