Detours
I cannot say that this came as much of a shock, but a number of days ago I was given the most unfortunate instructions to turn back from my route to Qoriga and head to La'ai'isan to respond to an important request of one of the colleges there (whose identity will remain undisclosed) to check up on a series of mysterious disappearances in that area. Though my reconnaissance mission would have to be postponed until the future, I felt honor-bound to investigate this particular case. After a while of doubling back, I decided to take my route through Yamiradan as I was keen on visiting one of my favorites cities, Isabella Port (which is really just downtown Hagabo). The Port always delivers the best whitefish the domain has to offer and because of its large Vete population, boasts a fine grasp of seafood handling and preparation. Truly a must-visit for seafood lovers.
During my detour, I debated whether to take meal at a sit-down restaurant or scrounge the night away on the street. My wishes were answered soon as a Vete man stopped me in the street and invited me to dinner. He, of course, recognized me from some of the pro-Vete intermarriage discourse I had engaged in back in 1207 (I was an audible figure in the proceedings) and attributed his own, successful marriage to my intervention here, though I believe, had I not been there, someone else would have taken my place. Why shouldn't they have, for as I stepped into his home, seven of his beautiful children greeted me at the door. For those further removed from the Vete populations, maybe you reading from the Ugur and Hanjin continents, might not know, but half-vete/half-humanesques are graced with gorgeous facial markings and tend to be completely hairless. Even these, half-grown ones were as smooth as proposes and boasted some of the most elaborate ripple patterns that intermating can produce (I would recommend my book The Mark of the Vete which I wrote in the 1197 for more information about Vete markings and their significance in rituals and religion).
I was invited to sit at their table and, given there was only one room in the house, I could see just how small and cramped it was, especially for nine people. Nonetheless, they all seemed very happy and we all had much to eat despite their modest dwelling. The wife cooked us a fantastic, steamed whitefish, one of the kind with the light orange stripes, and it was expertly spiced with cinnamon and goat cheese and dill. Besides a small helping of spinach curry, we drank sea water, though I guessed the man must have filtered it himself because there was not a hint of impurity in it.
The way that the Vete purify their water is by the large, gills on their sides. Vete are one of the most evolved beings on the 6th Earth, having both in-water and on-land respitory functions, and are able to inhale water through the mouth and pass it through their gills. For those taken aback by the...intimacy of this method will find that there is nothing fishy about the water (excuse my pun) and it is quite safe to drink.
The sun was setting by the time we finished after dinner drinks and the wife had put the children to bed. The three of us sat out on the dock in the night's air and spoke of some of the politics in the city. I do not keep a close watch on local politics (I visit too many domains to keep track of) so I was shocked to hear of a ressurgance in the Dehumanization movement, propagated by Anjótsen governer-candidate, Jop Gratska. I find behavior like this despicable and motivated by feelings of humanesque supremacy as well as political motivation to appeal to the high Human and Indolan populations (as they are wide-spread throughout Endala). It is especially hard to hear from someone like Gratska as the campaign against Anjótsens' status as beings back in the 80s is still fresh in so many minds and if it hadn't been for the change in law then, both he and I would not see the remarkable comforts we enjoy today.
I call on all those backing this movement to consider the consequences to come. For my fellow Anjótsen, it is our duty to be accepting of all beings, no matter how different from us, because there may come a time again, should this movement see itself through, that our value in society is called into question again, and we will most sorely regret the things we say against are brethren in Endalan identity.
