At this young age, Shuna-Shapta was caught up in the unexpected acceleration of the Tatchlan Master's previously sedate program to prepare Tolku society for the arrival of the Cluster-of-Clusters Nation, led by a Majastas. At the same time, she witnessed the demise of the previously dominant Menem religion, which historically always opposed the Tatchlan Masters. Her growing awareness, coupled with the unexpected arrival of an infant Majastas, Thakadush-Satwa (see above), fortified her as she descended to a depth beyond the Invocate programme as an Operant. Linked to the infant Majastas, she met the challenge of the impairment of one of the Tatchlan Faces, Hesha Vira, who challenged the entire Tatchlan enterprise.

Great affection and respect accompanied her memory throughout the Primary Epoch she helped to found. Over two hundred and fifty partial or complete surviving theatrical works celebrate various aspects of her life coming down to the present day.

She attained eight and eighty years old and died over two thousand andas from her native city on the western coast of Statos-Vey at the Angakut Channel. Her Majastas Thakadush Satwa set up a monument of six figures on the site. This early icon was crafted initially at the same time. This memorial remained a beloved destination throughout the Primary Epoch. While some documentation referring to it survives, many design aspects remain ambiguous. The meaning of the middle four figures, two mirrors of the other two, appearing from the icon to differ in proportions and non-sequential ages, is the subject of ongoing debate. It may be noted that Nu appears above the group as a Blossom, and the Uluvatu Masters icon is beneath them. What is agreed is the two seated figures at either end represent her holding the infant Majastas.

The Second Suvuka Onslaught saw the Suvuka destroy and remove all traces of the original memorial. In the Secondary Epoch, the seventh imperial way radiating out of Danam Yeldic Upata-Shepsus ended at the thirteenth provincial centre on this ancient site. Upon the decree of Yeldic Majastas Upata-Shepsus V, it was named Shuna-Shapta in her honour. The port and land were modified to resemble her beloved Bhampay. Based on this icon, six monumental statues bearing her name now stand on the curving seawall of the port. The provincial centre of Shuna-Shapta has become known as second only to Bhampay for its rich cultural life and many celebrated artists and artworks.

The above icon symbolizes what would have been a familiar sight for Master Tanas. This represents the shells of the Living Instruments he regularly employs to enter the Living System.

Master Tanas was well-regarded by his contemporaries but attained real fame after his death. He was the subject of numerous epic prose, extended songs and theatrical works for his guidance and friendship with Shuna-Shapta throughout the Primary Epoch. In the Secondary Epoch, a provincial centre founded on the southern shores of his childhood home, Lake Yandu, was named Tanas in his honour.

She had a Sweet Aroma Accord. She and her wife shared six husbands, and their circle-of-eight contained four children, including the eldest, Shuna-Shapta. Along with her wife and their circle’s eldest daughter, she was one of thirteen Maja residing within this pre-cluster.

Although the elder, Shuna-Dana, was not the Anchor of her circle, she joined with Shuna-Kanla to form a two-Maja Circle-of-Eight. They planned to intensify their aromas to incubate more Spokes of the Cluster Wheel. While the birth of more Maja was a reasonable expectation, the unforeseen result was the emergence of a child who would become a rare Operant and the Regent to the new Majastas Thakadush-Satwa. While a potent Master in her own right, Shuna-Dana welcomed the fact her intimate, Shuna-Kanla, exceeded her in depth, and their daughter Shuna-Shapta was of far greater depth than either of them.

While most of her daughter’s generation of Invocates gravitated towards employing Living Instruments, Shuna-Dana determined the more ancient practice of using the Tatchlan Cubes would be her specialty. She became a Master of this time-honoured discipline. During Hesha Vira’s challenge, her unique perspective was of great value within the Conclave of Masters.

This led to his initiating studies into the creatures. While long defeated and no longer a threat, many Tolku still found their existence troubling. With the support of his First and Second Ama and eventually his elder sister, he travelled to Thermistal to find his purpose within the emerging institutions studying them. From afar, he even interacted with Sinkin, a Suvuka featured in this novel. Long after this tale is done, he joins a brilliant generation that laid the foundations of what will eventually be the Suvuka Domestication Ministry, whose icon is presented here.

While of a much later date, this Erudite Ceremonial Theatre icon from the Enumerator Ministry belongs with this entry. This is in honour of her lifelong dedication to her craft. The central mask is flanked by emblems of deep civilization, the Dramsus, Haklu, and Danta Horns and percussion instruments. The mask eyes speak to the immense power of the Theatre.

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It is later determined he is a Raw Sensitive. This endowment, mixed with his mental ailments, makes for a strange brew inside his head. Due to his struggling with feelings of insignificance and fed by hallucinations, he recast himself as the chosen voice of the  Four Generals of the Air. His face shone when possessed by these visions, and he presented himself as a prophet.

Despite failing as a ‘Storm Invocate,’ he remained on the ship, initially as a valued Dream Reader, and then acquired other skills, particularly tying shipping knots. While becoming well-fed and expanding his knowledge in many areas, his delusions continued to manifest in waves. Due to the captain's support, along with other crew members and an Adept who came on board to tutor him, his combined genius and insanity grew into an influential figure capable of swaying crowds and tapping into ill-defined anxieties. These powers drew several crew members to become his devotees and caused a rift on the Jefaka. Dramatic events on land were recast as miraculous signs, and stories of his actions preceded their arrival in ports. When he landed in Bhampay, he was on the verge of following the dramatic and short career of an ancient Menem Prophet named  Zitapermas.

At age fifty-six, she left Kana-Moptu as part of a long-standing practice of granting those applying for a ‘Warm Reward.’ This included passage and a modest ‘Purse’ to allow mature islanders, having attained a measure of status, to travel to other parts of Anu. Tradition stated this would last a year before they returned with gifts and tales of their travels. Hegev had previously taken training as an Adept, a teaching level seldom employed on the island. With this accreditation, she could support herself over the next eight years. She travelled through Rho-Jashun for a year and then spent the next seven on Statos-Vey. Once there, she went on a pilgrimage to visit the surviving twenty ancient Menem Shrines of Statos-Vey. She was disappointed to find these ancient Menem monuments in neglectful ruin.

Sawlu has a long history extending back to the time of Nallurakon. They say their founding generation was primarily composed of her followers fleeing north after their anti-Tatchlan leader's death. They claim they eluded the Suvuka occupying the continent of Rho-Jashun and settled within the archipelago in the far north. They defeated any Suvuka force attempting to swim to them from these formidable positions. After defeating the Suvuka, they moved south to occupy the more hospitable five islands near the coast. Most Honoured Historians outside this region view these claims with considerable skepticism and say the evidence points to their not settling in numbers in the archipelago until much later, after the expulsion of the Suvuka from Rho-Jashun. The generation of Nebutan, including the young Emedin, were among the first to openly question this heroic myth within the archipelago based on a fresh examination of the evidence.

Emedin was eleven when Nebutan (then twenty-three) arrived on Wazaratcha Island. This dynamic figure profoundly impacted her. Aspects of Emedin’s adult personality were forged in the heady times of this acclaimed scholar’s career. When Emedin was thirty-six and a teacher, her hero, Nebutan, suddenly died. In the ensuing chaos, including claims and conspiracy theories of a southern plot to murder Nebutan and near civil war, she left her old life and signed onto a ship. In the subsequent eleven years, she worked up to be captain of the commercial vessel, the Jefaka. When she meets Seti, she is on her second long haul, known as ‘The Circuit,’ down the western coast of Rho-Jashun and Statos-Vey and up the eastern coast of both lands to return to their home port. The Jefaka is making its third journey along this globe-spanning route.

For much of this tale, Captain Emedin is angry. She joins her Sawlu Clan in being indignant at the diminished impact of Nebutan’s writings in the south, which she feels is a slight against her mentor. She is angry at the crew for readily turning pleasant regard for a waif into abject devotion for what they see as a boy prophet. She is angry with herself for joining their credulity by temporarily ascribing miraculous powers to Seti. She is furious at Adept Hegev for going against her wishes and actively encouraging Seti in what she sees as his illness and delusions. She also becomes irate at her First Officer, Dine, who initially tried to dissuade her from bringing Seti on board. Later, he falls under Seti’s spell entirely and begins to follow him as a Prophet. She is finally angry and ashamed of herself for her decision to go off course to avoid the possibility of the Masters finding Seti, only to lead the Jefaka into a terrible storm, taking the lives of five of her crew. As with most anger, it was founded on fear. For most of this story, Captain Emedin feared for Seti and what might become of him.

As a youth, he participated in an extraordinary adventure, heeding the call to assist in fortifying the Vettencore Passage on Eastern Thermistal. This massive endeavour had already been ongoing long before his arrival. In doing so, he played his part in ensuring the Suvuka were confined to their portion of Thermistal. His first settled career at home came after returning, with him gaining employment in the Chelphun Printing House as a young man. While attending school, he came to supervise a young Emedin in ‘Gaining a Trade.’

Later, these two young people met Nebutan when she made initial enquiries concerning her plans to publish a series of books. While Dine was there, Chelphun embarked on the total production of her first two works, the ‘Rise of Tatchlan’ and ‘Worse than Chaos.’ He had left Chelphun before this second collection’s completion due to a family crisis. Despite being closely involved in the physical manufacture of these two notable projects and later in their distribution when he sailed on various ships for the Sawlu Clan, Dine was not necessarily an avid reader. He remained somewhat aloof to many of the great Nebutan’s ideas. What inspired him about her career was the possibility of it upsetting the southern Master's plans to enact Tatchlan.

Through this activity, he felt a measure of satisfaction in having been involved in creating and distributing what all thought would be a potent anti-Tatchlan tool throughout Anu. By the beginning of this novel, it had become clear to him and others this project had failed. The influence of the now-deceased Nebutan was rapidly diminishing. Like his Captain Emedin, Dine also took this personally, given his physical involvement and hopes for their cultural impact.

Dine was a conservative and traditionalist. It is, therefore, not surprising he was initially against having Seti come on board. Along with contravening standing regulations, there appeared to be many mischief tales about such additions to the crew. From the perspective of a commercial vessel's smooth operation, these anecdotes would be confirmed and surpassed by Seti’s presence aboard the Jefaka. In time, he warmed to the boy. This was partly due to his ongoing dedication to becoming a contributing crew member. Later, he gradually fell under Seti’s spell as old religious feelings stirred in his presence. Dine had been raised around those schooled to be skeptical of the ancient traditions and had long become only a nominal observer of Menem traditions. He was also affected by the arrival of Seti’s Adept, Hegev. These two initially had little contact, but Seti appears to have brought them together in their growing fascination with the boy. Two ‘miraculous’ events also had a powerful impact on Dine. One was the incident at the Memanu Field, and the other was Seti’s shocking encounter on Thermistal. All these things worked to ignite feelings Dine had not known since he was a child. He came to believe Seti was a Menem Prophet. Unlike Hegev, he was content to follow him and had no ambition to gain power through Seti.

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Accounts of these puny creatures exhibiting powers to alter animals around them spread. The Suvuka saw themselves as the ‘Shepherds of Anu.’ They believed they were the perfect children of Anu, charged with protecting her integrity and purity. After these initial encounters on Thermistal, rumours of sporadic Suvuka managing to cross over to Rho-Jashun began to circulate in the north. Most drowned and washed up on shore, leading to fantastic tales based on Tolku finding their bones. A few appear to have survived the crossing, but little is known of their activities.

The Menem Priesthood rejected these calls, seeing them as a way to undermine their authority and validate their longstanding enemy. They maintained that the stories of a tremendous brutish being were all lies, as there was no mention of them in the Daruadunnal and Tarunachit, both foundational Menem texts. A Menem prophet named Zitapermas had maintained their existence and linked them to the mythical religious enemy of the Menem, known as the Kovlah. This led to his being accused of being part of what the priesthood characterized as the ‘Kovlah Heresies.' These announcements diminished their impact on the majority of the Rho-Jashun population.

The Masters employed one of their most potent tools - patience. They urged all to wait sufficiently for the Suvuka population to decline over several decades to no longer be a threat. Once it had, the Tolku forces issued out of the Impenetrable Barrier Region and drove the much-diminished remnants of the once-mighty Suvuka horde north.

They arrived back at their ancestor’s staging area of the Huallapandu Headlands in northern Rho-Jashun and, hampered from returning south, were allowed to live out the remainder of their lives and die in whatever way seemed best to them. While of diminished strength, Master Duamang’s weapon also impacted the vast herds of Thermistal. Robbed of most of their young, they were routed by the Tolku, now invading their homeland, and driven east until they were sequestered on a third of their original territory. The natural channels from the Tharapura Ocean to the north and the Panchala Sea to the south were joined into the mighty Vettencore Passage. Fortified on both banks, these immense walls and expansive waterways imprisoned the Suvuka.

It must be noted that Master Duamang lived in a very different culture from the one before the Onslaught. The Suvuka forced all Tolku together onto Statos-Vey, and the previous divisions between Rho-Jashun and Statos-Vey vanished in the crucible of the Suvuka threat. The Masters were now near-universally acclaimed as standing at the helm of the Tolku's future. Master Duamang’s success only sealed their respect and prestige and doomed the Menem Priesthood's remainder to obscurity. 

As such, she unknowingly mirrored the entire Living System, giving an awakened ‘face’ to what had been unconscious and incoherent forces. These blind mechanisms for pitiless survival chafed against the new layer of awareness now encompassing them. This state of affairs led to an unforeseen dysfunction within Tatchlan at the dawn of the Quickening.

This Face of Raw Life, entirely a creation of previous generations of Masters, went mad and attempted to separate herself from the other Faces and return all to the chaos of ungoverned life. In the throws of her rebellion, she turned to the Suvuka, whose growing mysticism allowed this previously unknown apparition to become a symbol of their metaphysical war against the Tolku.

This small portion of adults from Durka Herd chose to accompany him. Despite the Suvuka having young in numbers again, protecting their bucks is deep-rooted since the Tolku displayed how easily they could be robbed of them.

The Vettencore Passage was less than a day’s run from their herd’s current territories and one of many ceremonial sites of the Suvuka, the Chitikal Round. These circular open spaces with rough fertility symbols at the centre were focal points for the Mesmerizing Run, a potential frenzied race around this broad track, often leading to visions.

Sinkin is both more enquiring and more poetic than his contemporaries. He is full of questions and quite able to articulate the absurdities of their ancient ceremonies in the face of their post-Tolku context. Simultaneously, even as a young Buck, he was far more attentive to ancient epics and songs, bringing them into the present as few others. While he enthusiastically joins most Suvuka in embracing the Face of Hesha-Vira, he can also step away from her demands of him and some of the magical thinking his herdmates come to associate with her. His rare ability to be circumspect and enthusiastic causes much frustration among his travelling companions. In the end, he alone finds himself silently regarding the distant Tolku they see (Shuna-Vurupta) as the source of the Suvuka’s future.