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(created 2012-06-19 14:40):
Aqil'a vocabulary guide (read this BEFORE you read the story)
jenitar'sa- "one who sells their egg sacs"
jenitas- derogatory title given to promiscuous females.
sa- title given to merchants.
keo- "lordling," a minor noble's title.
secres- Aqil'a equivalent of acres
anche- title given to historians.
a- a pronoun meaning "one,' plural "an"
icho'batal- "blood army," the elite battalion on call for the protection of royalty
mat'uto- "the minute of maturation," the Aqil'a equivalent to puberty, is usually accompanied by a massive ceremony.
Description of the Aqil'a caste system:
Azur'icho- "blueblood," the highest caste. Reportedly descended from the Great Four, the founders of the Aqil'a.
Crim'icho- "redblood," the soldier caste, the common army is made up of these. Some are also employed as guards.
Verdan'icho- "greenblood," the farmer caste. The are known for their great discipline, and not-so-great intelligence.
Gri'icho- "greyblood," the common citizen caste. Some take up jobs as merchants, however, most work for others.
Sol'icho- "yellowblood," the merchant caste. Known for their close relationships with Verdan'icho.
Nul'icho- "blackblood," personal guards to the Azur'icho, make up the icho'batal.
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Qira'juno's story:
Name- Qira'juno (meaning "Juno the Wise")
Race: Aqil'a ("Deep Ones")
Status: Living
Occupation: High Consul, currently substitute Emperor
Base of Operations: Aqil'chano-ba (Deep Channel City)
Qira'juno (originally Juno) is a high-ranking member of Aqil'a hierarchy. Hatched the bastard son of Hira'jenitas , he has been documented as the only azur'icho ever laid by a commoner not descended in any way from royalty. However, as his father is not known, it is possible that one of his ancestors was part of the Great Four, like all azur'icho. Due to the dishonorable nature of his mother's occupation, Juno was kept on the edge of civilization for all of his larval stage. His mother, who knew that if he was found he would be siezed from her, desperately attempted to keep knowledge of his existence secret from everyone, while still providing for herself and for her son. As hard as she tried, however, word got out that a larval azur'icho was being kept by a traveling jenitar'sa, and soon she found herself running from the icho'batal. When they caught up, it was all but hopeless for Hira'jenitas. She was swiftly cut down and her larva abducted to be taken to Aqil'chano-ba, the capitol of the Aqil'a empire. There Juno was educated in the ways of the Azur'icho, their heritage, and their superiority over the other castes. It quickly became apparent that Juno was massively intelligent, and soon he passed his teachers in wisdom. After his mat'ute ceremony, he was given the title of Qira'juno, and was apprenticed to then-consul Anche'radi. After 50 years of apprenticeship, as is the tradition, he was discharged and took a job as consul to Keo'ak, a lower Azur'icho in charge of 50 secres of seafloor farming. Though initially disappointed, he quickly took advantage of his situation, and in the next three years, the Keo'ak network grew immensely, and soon Keo'ak was powerful enough to challenge the highest ranking political Azur'icho in wealth, with 570 secres of seafloor farming, and a network of 90 different sa'an paying tribute to him. Qira'juno was approached in secret by three Nul'icho under the control of Emperor Azur'han (Han the Blue). They offered him the position of High Consul to the Emperor, currently occupied by his old master Anche'radi. He agreed, and soon Anche'radi had mysteriously disappeared from existence. He abandoned his old master, leaving him to make his own decisions, and quickly took the job. He soon proved to be the best advisor the emperor had ever had, and the two grew close outside of their professional lives. The emperor trusted him so much, in fact, that when the War of the Greatshells called him to the battlefield, Qira'juno was placed in the position of substitute emperor. He has been a good leader, and has brought the Aqil'a empire to the highest point in their history. There are whispers among the Gri'icho that Qira'juno may be a reincarnated member of the Great Four, and while he has done nothing to confirm this suspicion, he has not denied it either.
Physical description of the Aqil'a:
The Aqil'a are roughly humanoid aquatic creatures who are believed by human scientists to be descended from deep-sea fish such as the hagfish.They are covered in a slimy skin-like substance which manifests at their mat'uto in one of six colors, depending on their blood type. Blue is the rarest, and are considered above other colors. Black is the next most uncommon, followed by yellow, then green, then red, and grey is the most common.Aqil'a have large, jawless mouths and seemingly no gills. They have vestigial fins on their head left from their hagfish days, and their limbs are long, muscular appendages much like tentacles, with multiple gripping pads down their sides. The Aqil'a's eyes are adapted for sight in lightless waters, and their bone structure is protected against the extreme pressure of the deep sea, giving them above-average strength on the surface. They have one patch of scale-less flesh on the back of their heads, from which they grow hair-like protrusions.
This story and language guide were quite fun to make. I had originally just wanted to enter this into the Under the Sea contest with one of my trademark "five-second" descriptions, but, I decided that this guy deserved more than that.
YES! 39th PLACE! Thank you, guys, all of you are awesome and cool and smart and funny and beautiful!