These are the players known to this humble scribe, listed in order of their appearance with links to information about  their characters.

 
Hritkolun hiSoruna - Fifth Circle Seer , Sorcerer and Priest of Qon

Hritkolun is a Sorceror-Priest of Qon within the Bey Su Temple.  He is known for being intelligent and competent.   His clanfamily has made sure that his early childhood  education would not be lacking in the Soul of the World.  In  addition to those skills  which every literate child knows, he learned the rudiments of Etiquette, Courtly Dance and other "noble" virtues at an early age and has not let them go to seed.  He plays at den-den and occasionally gambles at kevuk and tsahlten and has had some success.  He also used to attend the Hirilakte arena but has left off that in the last couple of years.  Within the Temple he is known for some facility with ancient languages and the histories of a couple of eras, as well as his researches into the nature of otherplanar beings (colloquially called "demons") and ancient devices.  Unlike some sorceror- or scholar-mages, he does maintain an interest in the ritual and  ceremonial aspects of the Temple.  He seems to wish to keep on Qon's good side, more than most.   Currently he has one main concubine and a few personal slaves.  He is a widower. 

Hritkolun is a shade below average height, well-proportioned, though hardly muscular.  He is known for being genial, though an occasional sombreness descends upon him.  His features include the classic Tsolyani hawk nose and high forehead and he has flashing black eyes and a slight curl to the hair at the base of his neck.  While his features are fairly average, the combination of those and his  reasonably affable personality have attracted a number of male and female friends.   Women, he is happy to "chum" around and share a mat with occasionally, but he has had no longstanding or serious female relationships at all since his wife died, save for that with his primary (and currently only) concubine.

 His concubine is Lekka of the Ice Lake, a Lorun "princess" and former Bey Su Hirilakte champion, of some four years back.  She was known for fighting naked,  with a huge, tooth-set, two-handed maul.  She is slightly taller than the Tsolyani female norm, but is  not unlovely, even though rather more muscular than most Tsolyani men prefer their mat companions.  She can play rather haunting melodies on a flutelike instrument and also likes to gamble. She has kept up with the arena  standings and favourites, more so than has Hritkolun.  As far as womanly skills, she has all the Tsolyani rudiments, although she herself refers to her cooking competency as "Not-Burning", rather than "Cooking".  Her attitude is that the city Tsolyani have such jaded palates, that an extra dash of hling-seed cures all.

 
Areli Turugdashen hiFesrengála, Dedaratlkoi of Thúmis

Areli is a member of a matriarchal family within the Fesrengála lineage of the Golden Dawn clan. Her father, Khivasha hi Fesrengála, married Dha'ala hi Kharsan, who originally hailed from Khirgar. Her mother's lineage is of the Clan of the Hall of Stone, and is particularly noted for the influence that the women of the family wield within clan affairs.

As is the Northern custom, Areli was given the second name of the intercalary day that she was born on, that of Turugdashen. It is rare for it to be used outside her family or in the most formal of situations. 

Unlike her older sisters, Areli is a somewhat average looking member of her family - though she is personable more than she is attractive. Her features are broad and flat, and she has the dark coppery skin of her mother's city. When she opens her mouth to smile, the gap between her front two upper teeth is quite obvious. Sometimes Areli accents this by sticking the tip of her tongue between this gap, most often when she concentrates! Areli is of tall and muscular build, with her arms having greater muscular definition.

Rather than play the games that her sisters did, she played with her brothers and like them she is good at physical sports. But she is also blessed with a certain intelligence and took to learning with an ease greater than that of either her sisters or brothers.

As a young adult, the clan elders reasoned that her intelligence should not go to waste by following her brothers into the legions and decided that attending the Monastery of the Grey Cloak could best fulfil her future and that of the Clan. In addition to the extended courses on theology, administration, law, etiquette and medicine, she trained as Dederatlokoi and has recently graduated from the school as member of the Open Hand. Like her mother, she is a follower of Thúmis.

Areli has one problem that she and her family keep a secret - she suffers from sleepwalking. The Priests surmise that her Chusetl is stronger than her Bakte. Areli strongly believes that at other times when her Bakte is not governed by her Chusetl, that her Hlakme is strong enough that it may travel with her Chusetl and may recall what it knows. 

Areli is normally dressed in a simple kirtle and short kilt, with occasionally a grey cloak. Instead of the black skullcap that the priests of Thúmis normally wear, Areli wears a black band around her forehead to keep her hair out of her eyes. If one looks very closely at her arms, she is wearing chlen vambraces that are so moulded to her arms in shape and colour, that they are almost indistinguishable from the flesh beneath. She is never seen with a weapon.

 
Sruma hiSoruna - Third Circle Sorceror and Lay Priest of Qon

Sruma hiSoruna is a third circle sorceror and lay-priest of Qon. He is a tall man of 20 years, slender, with unimpressive looks (his eyes are a bit widely set), and unusually sun-darkened skin for one of his profession.  He wears a yellow vest, an occasionally work-stained kilt, and the adornments that show his place in clan and temple.  He is a friendly person, sometimes quite talkative, but his mind seems to wander occasionally, and he may stare off into the distance for no apparent reason.  Sruma was born and raised in Bey Su, and knows much of it (especially the river and the docks) well.

His lineage is of low status within the clan, and even among the Sorunas he is not much esteemed.  His father is not known, and of other parents, only one of his mothers (Misa -- a clanswoman of few accomplishments, she helps with the accounts) survives. He has many siblings, about half older and half younger. Sruma himself showed promise as a youth: his priestly teachers soon found that he had the necessary attributes for sorcery, and the family appealed to the clan to support his training.  This they did, and Sruma was enrolled in the temple school of Qon.  He did well at first, advancing quickly as a scholar-priest. But along with his enthusiasm for magic, he has a passion for boats and the river.  All too often, when he should have been studying, he was on the docks, watching riverboats come and go. For his 16th birthday (to the particular dismay of his family), he bought himself a small sailing boat, which he loves to take out on the wide Mssuma River.  The two interests proved incompatible.  His studies suffered, and his status in the temple hierarchy declined.  His irregular habits, combined with an enthusiasm for an unpopular brand of mysticism, doomed his attempt at further advancement.  His failure was sufficiently severe that his instructors urged that he withdraw from the temple and take lay status.  With the grudging acquiescence of his clan, he did so. 

The change has not been nearly as unpleasant as he feared.  He makes himself useful to his clan and temple rather informally -- assisting with religious rites in the clanhouse, providing healing and minor spells, helping with the shipping trade, and when he can, traveling on the river.  When not voyaging, he continues his studies at the temple, but not with the rigor of his acolyte days. His love of the river and the people of it causes him to occasionally step below his social rank, and his status suffers accordingly.  Some think he is just a fool playing with boats, but fortunately for him, a few clanfolk and a mid-level priest or two recognize his usefulness. 

Dlan is a leader of men, only a Semetl of 20, but even for that, one must have some grace and charm.  He is enchanted with the gleaming brightness of ever-glorious war that Karakán promises, always looking for a way to prove himself, to be a more noble person.

Dlan is a young leader, having received his command when the previous Tirrikamu went to join the forces of the Military Party during the Civil War and took every veteren of the Semetl with him.  And so the youngest and greenest members of the Temple Guard were left to fend for themselves.  Dlan was quickly promoted, being from a high clan and  having the most talent at ceremony and pagentry from his small band.  Other clan-cousins were quickly brought in to fill the gaps and the Semetl was back to full strength, if not full experience.  Each and every one of these guards at Bey Sú has the strongest possible training regimen, and very little actual experience.

Dlan has been given leave to tend to his family matters for a season now that the Wars are over and his second is experienced enough to take over for a few months.  He will have to come back to his post clothed in glory and worthy of a promotion, or face being commanded by his younger clan-brother!

Dlan is well-kept, keeping up with the latest fashions, always immaculate.  His armor gleams and his hair is always well oiled and scented.  His sword is glossy, the tanners having dyed it in the lightning patterns of Karakán.  His bow is always supple, a true treasure from his clan-father, Mnéktu hiVraisúna, a respected 9th circle bureaucrat in the Palace of Ever-Glorious War in Bey Sú.  Dlan has 6 other clan fathers and 9 clan mothers, not to mention his uncles and aunts.  A prosperous, noisy family indeed!

 
Aknallu hiHketoketl - (Second Circle) Junior Administrative Priest of Ketengku, Temple of Bey Su

Aknallu feels that he has always been in school. He was chosen at an early age because of his ability in manipulating mechanical objects to be trained in the discipline of engineering/architecture. The clan sent him to the blue skull capped priests of Ketengku to learn mathematics, mapping and the construction of irrigation works to benefit the clan's agricultural holdings outside the city. This seemed a natural progression since his father had been a construction supervisor for the creation of the clan's infrastructure and the temple of Chegarra for the last 20 years. His mother is a devout follower of Avanthe and is still trying to decide on the best match for his marriage.

Presently he is on sabbatical from his post as a Junior Priest of the Second Circle in the Administrative Branch at the Temple of Ketengku in Bey Su. He was requested to supervise the laborers in the construction of a new addition to the clan house. This job will soon be finished and the thought of going back to the temple translating Yan Koryani missives and approving designs for irrigation canals in the Dna fields is disheartening. 

What he really wants to do is design and build fortifications and artillery pieces for the Empire. He desires to join the Legion of Lord Kaingmra, but it is associated with the Golden Bough clan and would require quite a bit maneuvering to get in. Unfortunately, the temples of Thumis and Ketengku do not appreciate the warlike natures of some of its priests and this has been a point of contention several times in his career.    Hopefully, an opportunity will present itself.

 
Fhènestor-Haddà-Psàk-Thàrpyen, Foreign Sorcerer

Fhenestor is one of a band of refugees from a distant  land who arrived most unexpectedly a few months past, coming out of the shadows within the Bey Su temple of Thumis and Ketengku.

Apparently in his mid-20's, Fhenestor is a bit on the short side with a golden-brown complexion and straight black hair. His face is round, with a short, neatly kept beard and a naturally upturned mustache below his wide nose. His eyes are usually a golden color, but now and then they seem to become metallic, like mirrored silver. Some claim that his eyes were filled with shifting shadows the night the refugees arrived. Noticably more careful with his left hand than his right, Fhenestor tries to keep this hand turned away from the sight of others, apparently ashamed of it. The ball of his left thumb bears none of the normal ridges, rather, the glyph of some demon covers it in white and brown.

Like many of the refugees, Fhenestor has been living with one or another of the priests of Ketengku as a servant, though unlike most he is not a slave as it is clear that he knows ritual magic of a foreign sort. His grasp of the Tsolyani language is limited, and his manners crude, but he learns willingly and well.

 
Tsutel hiHketoketl - Statesman, Third Circle Administrative Priest, and Warrior-Priest of Chegarra
Temple of Bey Su

Upon meeting Tsutel hiHketoketl for the first time, one cannot but be struck but two major characteristics -- his powerful frame and the force of his personality. Raised as a warrior-priest of Chegarra in Tumissa, this young man of twenty is newly arrived in Bey Su to a new posting as a Third Circle Administrative Priest studying to be a statesman of the Chegarran Temple. Tall [135 hoikh (71 inches)] and massive [127 psekh (210 lbs)], young Tsutel lives in the family quarters of his uncle, Nirunel hiHketoketl, who is supervising new construction on the Temple of Chegarra. 

Rumours abound of recent tragedy and mystery surrounding the Su'umelkoi. It is commonly known by clanmembers in his new home in Bey Su that his immediate family was quite devastated over a year ago by the viral infection that predominantly affected the Hketoketl and Vraisuna families in Tumissa. Research would reveal that, in Tsutel's immediate family of eight parents and eleven siblings, only himself and an older married sister are still living, as they were the only ones to not be in the city during the outbreak. This tragic loss can somewhat explain the young man's many moments of silent contemplation, his rather large allowance, and recent reckless behavior.

Of additional interest to the rumour-mongers of the clan is the nature of his transferral to the Temple in Bey Su. It is known that a few months previous, Tsutel was a Changadeshkoi (soldier) in the 10th Imperial Crossbowmen, the Legion of the Wind of Iron. Differing factions support the claim that either he was suddenly transferred in response to some heroic act in the field or in desperation by the clan to avoid some form of disgrace. The truth is only known by officials in the clan and temple, but many suspect the latter; wouldn't great honour bring with it public acclaim instead of protected silence?. What cannot be as easily hidden is Tsutel's bearing -- the man is clearly more comfortable in the role of warrior, though he takes to his studies of language and diplomacy diligently as befits a son of Golden Dawn.

Tsutel is not hard on the eyes and extraordinarily charming, a favorite of elder and servant alike. Those surrounding him seem polarized between ardent supporter and unconvinced detractor. With the naivete of youth, he somewhat innocently struggles to turn the latter into the former; his calm presence, heartfelt sincerity, and earnest desire to make things right powerful tools in such a cause. Of his well-formed features, the most distinguishing are his warm but haunted eyes and a comically distinguished coif of hair that is growing into a more priestly length from the close-cropped style favored by the 10th Imperial Legion.

Tsutel prides himself as a ssiyurkoi (swordsman) and has the beginnings of a collection of lacquered swords. He is also an amateur falconer of growing skill and is currently asking permission of the clanhouse to fund a short hunting trip to the northeast for the young cousins, as the lands immediately around Bey Su cannot compare either to the excellent grounds surrounding Tumissa or the hills of Thri'il. Of late Tsutel has been spending a lot of time at the Hirilakte Arena and the Temple of Dlamelish in the company of Arkutu hiTresal of Clan Red Sky, a Tirrikamukoi in the Temple Guard of Chiteng. They have become steadfast friends following a heated public confrontation brought about by their devotion to their faiths and warriors' pride.

The Su'umelkoi favors the Chegarran aspect of Horgoma, who represents bravery in the face of destruction and heroism as sacrifice for the Imperium. 

Those in the clanhouse who spend their time on such things are convinced Tsutel is a troubled and unhappy young man due to recent events and are working to find him a good wife. The endeavor would be an easier task if he would pay more attention to the wifely prospects and less to their brothers. For his part, Tsutel laughs the matchmakers off and has presented a few of them with quite excellent candidates for consideration as spouses of their own. 

Such is Tsutel's way, and that of a Chegarran statesman.

 
Tsurána hiFesrengála - Aridani Scholar-priestess of Belkhanu

Golden Dawn Clan
Bey Su
Age: 20
Long black hair, copper complexion, brown eyes, beautiful.

Tsurana is a head-strong and brilliant scholar of Bednalljan history and sorcery in the Temple of Belkhanu in Bey Su. She is devoted to her clan and  her temple. Her intelligence and devotion (and her beauty) got her noticed by the clan masters and the temple hierarchy. In the area of sorcery, she hopes to learn about the Planes Beyond. She has a bit of a reputation for short, passionate sexual affairs, and currently has no plans to marry. 

 
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