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--- takma:relations [2021/05/07 10:47] – ↷ Links adapted because of a move operation shyriath
+++ takma:relations [2024/01/25 09:52] (current) – shyriath
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-There are two other sapient species on [[avishraa:|Avishraa]], both of which the [[takma:|takmar]] have come into contact with. Their **relations** with each are described below.
+====== Takma relations with other species ======
+There are two other sapient species on [[universe:mikurmiya:avishraa]], both of which the [[takma:|takmar]] have come into contact with. Their **relations** with each are described below.
 ===== Xtauh =====
-Broadly speaking, the takmar and the [[xtauh:|xtauh]] are not prone to good relations. The primary driver of this is competition for land and resources; for well over a hundred [[concept:timekeeping#cycle|cycles]], takmar have steadily displaced xtauh from the river valleys of the southern [[avishraa:place:brightness|Brightness]], relegating them to the desert and other marginal areas, and in many cases only the great environmental flexibility of the xtauh has prevented them from being driven extinct in those areas; they can survive on far less water than takmar can, and as a result the latter find it difficult to traverse large parts of the arid landscape.
+Broadly speaking, the takmar and the [[xtauh:]] are not prone to good relations. The primary driver of this is competition for land and resources; for well over a hundred [[concept:timekeeping#cycle|cycles]], takmar have steadily displaced xtauh from the river valleys of the southern [[geography:sekhaa:region:brightness]], relegating them to the desert and other marginal areas, and in many cases only the great environmental flexibility of the xtauh has prevented them from being driven extinct in those areas; they can survive on far less water than takmar can, and as a result the latter find it difficult to traverse large parts of the arid landscape.
 Their mutual animosity has other components, however. The xtauh are the close evolutionary cousins of the takmar. Though neither species would be particularly inclined to acknowledge their similarities, there are nonetheless a good many of them. In a sense, however, it is the similarities that have contributed to the two species' fraught history with each other. They have differences in their appearance, psychology, and habits that while not completely alien are, perhaps, worse, in that they are familiar enough to cause a member of one species to think they understand what is happening, while being different enough to prove them wrong.
-At the most basic level, the misunderstandings begin with a difference in their very bodies. Both [[takma:body-language|takmar]] and [[xtauh:body-language|xtauh]] rely heavily on their antennae for emotional expression and nuance; but the takma's antennae are swept backward from the head, relatively straight, while those of the xtauh are much longer, and extend sideways from the head, curling downward. While the way each species positions its antennae in various moods is actually analogous to that of the other - each species uses the same muscles to move them when, for example, alert - the results are visually different enough that the underlying similarities are not obvious to the untrained observer. To a takma xtauh have a permanent look of alertness and distress, as if paranoid or guilty - an impression not aided by the xtauh tendency to continually shift their gaze. While those with long experience with the other species can learn to recognize their emotional signals for what they are, there are regrettably few opportunities for it.
+At the most basic level, the misunderstandings begin with a difference in their very bodies. Both [[takma:body_language|takmar]] and [[xtauh:body_language|xtauh]] rely heavily on their antennae for emotional expression and nuance; but the takma's antennae are swept backward from the head, relatively straight, while those of the xtauh are much longer, and extend sideways from the head, curling downward. While the way each species positions its antennae in various moods is actually analogous to that of the other - each species uses the same muscles to move them when, for example, alert - the results are visually different enough that the underlying similarities are not obvious to the untrained observer. To a takma xtauh have a permanent look of alertness and distress, as if paranoid or guilty - an impression not aided by the xtauh tendency to continually shift their gaze. While those with long experience with the other species can learn to recognize their emotional signals for what they are, there are regrettably few opportunities for it.
 (Regardless, though each species looks, at best, unusual to the other, their body shapes are similar enough that, perhaps inevitably, sexual liaisons do occur. Though the size differences may cause some difficulty, they are broadly speaking physically compatible with each other. The two species also remain genetically close enough that [[species:clade:takmin#hybridization|interbreeding]] is possible, albeit risky.)
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 Raiding by xtauh upon takma settlements in the Brightness is common, and many takma cities in turn conduct operations against the xtauh, killing or enslaving as many as they can find. The situation is one of perpetual bloody stalemate, as the takmar are limited in their reach into the desert, while the xtauh have neither the numbers nor the organization to overpower or drive out the takmar for long periods.
-Throughout much of the takma-occupied Brightness, xtauh are either not permitted into cities or are allowed only as slaves. But some settlements do have trading relationships with certain xtauh groups, particularly those originating from north of the Brightness, from which they bring spices and other goods that the takmar have no access to. Takmar living in areas outside the Brightness - for example, the [[avishraa:place:cerulean-tangle|Cerulean Tangle]], where the bulk of takmar live - have generally either not heard of the xtauh at all or only as stories or legends, and are more likely to be curious and amused than hostile, though rarely friendly.
+Throughout much of the takma-occupied Brightness, xtauh are either not permitted into cities or are allowed only as slaves. But some settlements do have trading relationships with certain xtauh groups, particularly those originating from north of the Brightness, from which they bring spices and other goods that the takmar have no access to. Takmar living in areas outside the Brightness - for example, the [[geography:sekhaa:region:cerulean_tangle]], where the bulk of takmar live - have generally either not heard of the xtauh at all or only as stories or legends, and are more likely to be curious and amused than hostile, though rarely friendly.
-More recently, the rise of the [[culture:mythology:path_of_radiance:great-illumination|Great Illumination]] among the takmar of the western Brightness has opened a new path for interspecies cooperation. The universality of the movement's mission inclines it to accept the personhood, and especially the devotion, of xtauh as well as takma, and its antihierarchical undercurrents appeal greatly to xtauh who have no interest in the autocratic pronouncements of more organized religions. The region dominated by the Illumination is one of the few where the two species coexist in close proximity, and the religion is possibly the only one founded by takmar to have gained significant numbers of xtauh adherents. Because this area also contains most of the Brightness' ports, xtauh can sometimes be found living relatively peacefully in places like [[avishraa:community:ǣdyihozh:start|Ǣdyihòzh]] that can be reached by ship.
+More recently, the rise of the [[mythology:path_of_radiance:great_illumination:]] among the takmar of the western Brightness has opened a new path for interspecies cooperation. The universality of the movement's mission inclines it to accept the personhood, and especially the devotion, of xtauh as well as takma, and its antihierarchical undercurrents appeal greatly to xtauh who have no interest in the autocratic pronouncements of more organized religions. The region dominated by the Illumination is one of the few where the two species coexist in close proximity, and the religion is possibly the only one founded by takmar to have gained significant numbers of xtauh adherents. Because this area also contains most of the Brightness' ports, xtauh can sometimes be found living relatively peacefully in places like [[geopolitical:Ǣdyihòzh:]] that can be reached by ship.
 ===== Orghysh =====
-The [[orghysh:|orghysh]] are relatives of both the takmar and the xtauh, though their ancestors diverged far further back. Native to the [[avishraa:place:sea-of-grass|Sea of Grass]], the bulk of the species subsists on hunting and gathering in nomadic bands, limited to tools of stone, bone, and wood. In recent cycles, some orghysh have taken to remaining near takma settlements to trade for agricultural products and manufactured goods, especially metal tools.
+The [[orghysh:]] are relatives of both the takmar and the xtauh, though their ancestors diverged far further back. Native to the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Sea of Grass]], the bulk of the species subsists on hunting and gathering in nomadic bands, limited to tools of stone, bone, and wood. In recent cycles, some orghysh have taken to remaining near takma settlements to trade for agricultural products and manufactured goods, especially metal tools.
-The orghysh are simultaneously more and less inscrutable to the takmar than are the xtauh: more, since their [[orghysh:body-language|body language]] has fewer parallels from which to extrapolate any understanding; yet less, since, unlike both [[takma:behaviors#empathic_shielding|takmar]] and [[xtauh:behaviors#empathic_shielding|xtauh]], the orghysh are far less prone to muffle their [[concept:empathic_sense|empathic output]]. The complex but unshielded emnotional profiles they present remind the takmar of those produced by children.
+The orghysh are simultaneously more and less inscrutable to the takmar than are the xtauh: more, since their [[orghysh:body language]] has fewer parallels from which to extrapolate any understanding; yet less, since, unlike both [[takma:behaviors#empathic_shielding|takmar]] and [[xtauh:behaviors#empathic_shielding|xtauh]], the orghysh are far less prone to muffle their [[concept:empathic_sense|empathic output]]. The complex but unshielded emotional profiles they present remind the takmar of those produced by children.
 Though the Sea of Grass is not nearly as arid as the Brightness, it is also not as humid as the takmar prefer, and therefore, as in the Brightness, they tend to settle closely around rivers and lakes, though they are far less restricted in their movements beyond them. Since most of the orghysh are nomadic and in small groups, they can rely on smaller water sources than might be attractive to a permanent settlement, and there are no shortage of them; therefore, although friction due to competition has certainly occurred, it has not been as severe or as frequent as  with the xtauh; the orghysh are more likely simply to move, or even trade, than to attack, though for particularly small and vulnerable takma settlements 'trade' may bear a certain resemblance to a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_racket|protection racket]].