Rahkirii
A fubarnii engineer.
When I was just a hatchling in my homeland of Teral, there was a crazy old fubarnii who wandered the town, talking to the garkrid that infested his robes, and who could be smelled from across the street. We were scolded for laughing at him and I could never understand why the adults referred to him as Rahkirii and treated him with such respect. They fed him the best food even when it was scarce and offered him their finest wine and gifts. It was only when I grew older and long after he had passed away that I understood what he was and how he was both blessed and cursed with The Calling (the ″Rahki″). Ever since Gehran destroyed the first of the devanu towers, these Rahkirii have held a venerated position in our society. Almost all fubarnii cultures I have visited in my travels seem to have their own Rahkirii, although they will often call them by different names, such as ″Engineer″, ″Shaman″ or ″Tak″. The Calling can manifest in many ways, but usually becomes obvious at an early age. Young Rahkirii will often struggle to interact with the other jenta, becoming introverted and many will grow to avoid fubarnii interactions altogether. They also have a tendency to obsess over trivial details, but this is also what makes them such an asset to our society. Without help, many Rahkirii would probably withdraw completely and it is doubtful they would survive on their own. However, most cultures recognise the seeds of potential in these individuals. They will usually find an older engineer to care for the child, who will do his best to nurture them. It is a source of sadness, but I have found that many Rahkirii live their lives in a state of confusion or distress, unable to exorcise the demons that haunt them or incapable of meshing the complexities of the outside world with the patterns they see within their minds. A rare few will, however, manage to harness their extraordinary intellects, twisting their view of the world to make sense, and seeing patterns and potential that a normal fubarnii would only dream of. These individuals are the true engineers, whose vision has allowed the empire to form. Many Rahkirii are still not what most civilised fubarnii would consider sane, but they are venerated and supported by the communities in which they live. The fubarnii of the village ensure that they live in comfort, delivering food even when resources are scarce, or rebuilding sections of their houses when experiments go awry or exotic pets have escaped. In return the community often just suffers more difficulties, but I have heard many tales of engineers randomly suggesting something that forever improves a village, or of Rahkirii who were thought to be truly insane having a period of lucidity where they work hard within the community, applying architectural improvements or implementing horticultural processes that double the yield for the mushroom harvest. Those lucid periods may last years, but may also end abruptly as the engineer gets distracted by another interest. The old Rahkirii of my youth spent his later years living in stinking squalor, meticulously cataloguing thousands of different types of garkrid excretions. After his death a thorough study of his notes delivered some remarkably useful findings that brought great wealth to many in my home of Teral, not least of them my good friend Danakan and his family.
– From the notes of Muri dreh Terak
The Rahkirii Across Anyaral:
Within the Central Empire there is a well-structured network of academies that locate and train young Rahkirii, stretching out to the colleges of Larigal. Those who don’t learn to use their gift are cared for by the academy to save them doing too much harm to those around them, but those who thrive are allowed to wander back out into the Empire. Across the more distant reaches of the Empire things are less structured and those Rahkirii who aren’t identified by the academies often live tragic, short lives. Wandering engineers will always look out for those individuals, hoping to be able to make sure they survive long enough to realise their potential. The Casanii venerate their Rahkirii as mystics and shamans, believing them to commune with the peloaan spirits and to wield powers beyond the knowledge of those who aren’t blessed. From what I have seen, their shamans are still expected to hunt and support the tribes, but are perhaps given more leeway than others if they don’t fully pull their weight. During my travels with Danakan we learned that the Delgon don’t appear to have true engineers. It is not known why, but some have posited that it may relate to the way their crèches are managed. Young Delgon are not given the leeway to express their differences. Those who don’t follow the strict processes of the various castes are relegated to menial tasks, and it is perhaps the case that many potential Rahkirii lived out their lives growing mushrooms or collecting excreta for the other Delgon. The Delgon have however ″adopted″ a small number of engineers who work for them, either unwittingly, under duress or some, such as NuraSen Plutom, even willingly. Whereas the Delgon seem to stifle their Rahkirii, the neighbouring Dhogu have a rich tradition of venerating their ″Tak″. Their powers are treated with fear and respect and it appears that there have been many Rahkirii who have risen to positions of great power within the tribes.
Source: The Compiled Twilight Traveller Issue 2