[BoDR] Celebrating the Solstice

Time to Read:

34–51 minutes

Hello! I’m actually on holiday. I haven’t shared that, but now you know anyway. The reason is that I fractured my rib again, so I need time to heal.

That said, I wanted to share something so I took the time to write this very, very lengthy worldbuilding post.

I took a lot of time.

Too much a lot of time.

So much so I’m posting this late.

Anyway. *clears throat to go into storyteller mode*

Let’s turn back time; let’s step a thousand years into the past and jump to a different timeline in our history.

When we do this, we end up in Zualu Diar, a large empire in Central Asia. Affected by cultures around them as well as their own original beliefs and traditions, we find them celebrate the June Solstice. To them, it’s a summer celebration, and a celebration related to the Deity of the Sun, Nükiž.

Now, the people in Zuladiar are many and a wide array of people, so traditions are various and I can’t include them all, but I wanted to share some different things about how they celebrate the June Solstice — or “to burn darkness”, Naral Židad, as they call the celebration.

With that, I’ll just dive right into the world of my novel Blood of Destinies Rewritten and their celebration now!

Attire

During Naral Židad, the people will often wear colourful clothing and jewellery. How they wear their hair can also matter. What determines what they wear is often one of four elements — fire, water, air or earth. This is determined based on what is considered their birth element or the element of their divined name given to them at age four.

Fire

This is Nükiž’s element, but it’s not considered a better element to have during Naral Židad, as Nükiž stands for the connection of the four deities and the four being united into one entity that created the world.

People who dress in accordance with the fire element will often wear red or orange and if wealthy, they wear gold as well. Common patterns on their tunics and robes are sun wheels, suns, medallions including flames, patterns that remind people of smoke or mist and flames. There are no animal patterns that they specifically connect to the sun, but some connect lions, tigers, foxes and rodents to fire and people with names related to these tend to wear red or orange. The Imperial family tends to wear gold brocade.

Generally, people wear a hat, preferably putting their hair up so it’s hidden beneath the hair. If not a hat, then a type of crown. These hats and crowns are called kvan in their language.

Because Nükiž is associated with intellect, scholarly pursuit and justice, people dressed in Nükiž’s colour are considered intelligent. The alternatives are being passionate and wealthy.

Water

The element of the second deity, Denaštür, and they’re a deity that also has quite a significance during Naral Židad. Denaštür is seen as the ruler of life and death and a deity of duality and choices, complementing Nükiž.

The people associated with the water element tend to wear blue. It’s considered the only acceptable colour, even if Denaštür can also be depicted with greenish-blue, black or violet robes. Accessories may be in silver or jade. The more wealthy tend to wear a silver waist ornament. Common patterns are water patterns, waves, clouds or mist, fish, water birds and different kinds of flowers associated with water, like lotuses or water lilies. Dragons and reptiles and frogs are also associated with water, so they can also be found as patterns on someone’s tunic or robes. The Imperial Clan members tend to have some silver brocade on their robes while wealthy military family members often have wrist or arm guards in silver.

A typical hairstyle for young people between 12 and 20 is to wear part in a bun and part loose or braided, and that’s because the hair style is associated with Denaštür. As such, during Naral Židad, that hairstyle is the one people with water element association tend to wear. How they wear that specific hairstyle varies though, Hairsticks are common among the commoners.

When people see someone match this description during the celebrations, they think of caring, nurturing, motherly people, or people who are very adaptable.

Air

Air is associated with light and bright blues and yellow, in particular the sky and yellow tulips. Ažbak is the deity of vision and artistic pursuits, as well as the Afterlife. All this makes them separate from the two first deities and is paired with Šadiaran instead.

Birds, clouds, sun rays and tulips are common on robes of people with air as their birth or divined names element, but white is also common. People tend to wear geometrical patterns aside from other associated symbols, as do they have references to archery. The moon and stars are pretty unusual, though they are symbols of Ažbak as well, while winter symbols are avoided. Deer are associated with the afterlife so at times people will wear that on their robes, especially if they recently lost someone.

Hair is often let down or loosely braided or tied low with simple but elegant accessories. Robes tend to be pretty flowy too.

Naturally people think those wearing yellow are artistic people.

Earth

Šadiaran is strongly associated with the military, and protection, and the green colour is what the Imperial Bodyguard wears. They also stand for agriculture and hearing, making music their domain.

The colours worn by those associated with earth tend to be green and brown. Natural motifs such as flowers, leaf vines, apple tree branches, apples, nut trees, horses, most land animals, and so on. Sabres and iron cups are also related to Šadiaran. Which motifs one wears tend to depend on whether one is in the military or not. Those from the military or military families also tend to wear leather wrist guards. If wealthy, they often choose silver as a nod to Denaštür who lords over life and death and thus will decide when a soldier dies on the battlefield.

Because of the associations Šadiaran has to the military, as well as a strong relation to agriculture, hair tends to be put up in a bun to keep it out of the way. The robes are also often more fitted and easy to move in, as compared to the other three.

Generally people don’t have much of a first impression of people in green or brown, but instead look for an indication of whether they’re military or not, which tends to be seen in the arm- or wrist guard, if they’re riding a horse or if they happen to have a pet falcon. All of these could just as well indicate someone is a hunter, but they tend to be careful of those who may be military, just in case.

Purification Bath

Primarily in the south, but also in other areas where Denaštür is the primary deity, the people often take a purifying bath the day before, much like how those in the more northern areas do this for the New Years Equinox.

The common people will often choose to bathe near a river, lake, brook or other such body of water, while those of higher standing may have a bath, or afford going to a bathhouse. Water is especially scarce in the south at this time, so in the southernmost areas this purifying bath means they have to be scrubbed down until their skin is raw while the water itself is scented with herbs and flowers.

The location as well as which herbs or flowers are determined by the oracles as which are sacred. These may change based on a four-year cycle. These herbs and flowers are sold at the chosen locations by travelling merchants, often for a small sum.

First Fire and Procession of Light

On the day of the summer solstice, the first fire is lit at the temple entrance at sunrise. It’s in a gilded bowl where it will burn through the day and night and be put out at sunrise the next day.

Following this, in a procession of light, the oracles dressed like Nükiž will light torches and lanterns as they move to a designated spot where there’s a small bonfire to light. It’s often at a square or other larger empty area and near a body of water, such as a lake or river.

Some will wake up early or keep vigil to show their respects to the oracles up at dawn to in a very slow procession move forward.

In the Imperial Capital, they also go to light torches at each side of the Imperial City gates and at the entrance of the Imperial Palace itself.

At the Temples

The temple gates open for the followers once the bonfire is lit. There the people can do various tasks and the oracles and diviners offer their services.

Prayers

People will come to pray to Nükiž for good fortune, prosperity, wisdom, guidance and for others to treat them with fairness. It’s not uncommon for people to move to the statue or painting of Denaštür as well, praying for good judgement in decisions and emotional stability as a complement to the more intellectual domain of Nükiž.

Offerings

The most common offering to Nükiž is burnables or that which can be lit — dried flowers, incense and lanterns being most common — as well as wine. Additionally, nuts, fruit, and milk are other common offerings. Gold is often placed on the altar, if silver is placed on Denaštür’s altar as well.

Divination

Aside from name divination, which continues as normal, it’s very common for those of marriageable age to come to the temples to ask for marriage divination. They consider the most marriageable age to be 16 to 24, with most marriages happening between 20 and 24 while engagements often occur between ages 16 and 20. Therefore people who haven’t got engaged by 20 and married by 24 often want to have their marriage divined, to know when their fated one will cross paths with them and/or when they’ll get married.

Spouses who feel miserable in their marriage may also come in for divination of their marriage.

Thus, Naral Židad is also known as the time when Nükiž will part lovers and bring them to others, as it happens that engagements are broken apart and marriages end in divorce because of the diviners.

Advice

If divination is not on the table, the oracles are there to offer abstract advice. It’s believed that the oracles have the closest connection to Nükiž and all that they know about the past and future. The oracles will often offer amulets together with their advice, and common belief is that the amulet will lead a person to a hint to understand the oracles.

Items

In addition to amulets, the temples offer incense, satchels and tokens in gold, silver, silk and at times knotted threads or beads. They often also have a broad selection of bracelets, hair beads and belt and sash decorations that all are believed to have protective capabilities. During Naral Židad, these are often related to Nükiž, with the silver wares being an exception.

Preparations

In preparation of the summer solstice, the temples tend to close for 4 days. During this time, temples dedicated to other deities will move the statue or statuette of Nükiž to stand before the primary deity of the temple. If not possible, there will be a painting on display. The temples are decorated in red fabric and gold or gilded metal. The oracles also limit their intake of alcohol and food and drink won’t contain anything foreign, such as foreign spices, tea leaves, non-local fruits, etc. These four days are also the time when new oracles are initiated, and diviners take apprentices, making the festival dedicated to the first deity the first celebration that the new members of a temple experience as oracles or diviners-to-be.

Philanthropy

Nükiž is a deity of prosperity and good fortune, and over time a tradition has come to include giving to the less fortunate. This can be a merchant offering bread to those with little to no money, or selling fabrics at reduced prices. They see that being able to simply give away during the celebration of Nükiž is proof that you are doing well financially. However, it’s also considered poor taste to gift money.

This display of philanthropy is most commonly seen in large cities or vassal city-states, with the most lavish display being in the Imperial Capital where the Imperial City, with its Imperial Palace and governmental offices, will spend a great deal of money on this. The Princes as well tend to offer their own contributions. Because of the sheer amount of wealthy in the Imperial Capital, this display tends to spread to outside of the city in particular.

Among many within the Imperial Clan, this is also a kind of competition, yet who contributes the most no one can truly say, but they all assume it’s the Emperor himself. Most within the Imperial Family assume the Crown Prince probably does the worst.

Others do this more out of genuine concern for their fellow people, and will try to gift to those in greater need of things even if they’re not doing the greatest either.

Rewards

In addition to the above, historians and governmental officials will be rewarded a sum of money. One official in the realm will also be rewarded an additional amount for their show of dedication to the people and for doing good to them. This is announced during the day or, but the rewards are given at a later date to avoid offending Nükiž.

Nükiž’s Four Scholars

Before Naral Židad, Zuladiar will hold examinations in the Imperial Capital. These will determine the most gifted scholars of the realm. The number four holds a lot of significance especially with Nükiž, so they will announce the four greatest scholars of the realm for the year on the day of Naral Židad. The scholar who does the best will be considered someone especially gifted by Nükiž and there’s a reward for coming out top, in addition to the great achievement and recognition that comes with coming out top. The examinations don’t necessarily mean a guaranteed place in the court or as an official, and to many scholars it’s more about the achievement. Many of the top scholars end up being independent scholars teaching rather than take upon themselves governmental work, but some of the greatest strategists in court have also been one of the top four.

Parade

In addition to the procession at dawn, there’s often a parade happening at the beginning of the third fire hour which falls at noon. This, too, will include some of the oracles, but with a greater variety than the morning’s procession.

Thus there are often some martial artists and acrobats who play the parts of spirits fallen in the name of Šadiaran in war vanquishing evil spirits together with Nükiž. These martial artists are thus dressed in brown and green carrying sabres while the acrobats wear masks as the evil spirits. One skilled martial artist is dressed in red, being the representative of Nükiž illuminating the eternal night that the evil spirits bring. They begin the parade, creating an impressive display.

There are also dancers in whites and yellows embodying the more playful and elegant aspects of Ažbak. With them, music and song will fill the streets as they move along. The dancers will always be associated with the element of air, dressed as Ažbak, with flowing robes and loosely braided hair. Some of them will throw ribbons of various lengths in the colours in all kinds of shades of red. It’s said that the brighter the red and longer the ribbon, the greater the fortune if you manage to catch it.

Sons and daughters of nobles and military households, in particular the young masters and mistresses, may take to ride horses with the parade, although some of the people will choose to walk. They’re clad in blue, and sometimes silver, green, violet or black, to represent their element of water, and thus Denaštür. Although they may wear the same colours, it’s common for these people to make sure to dress in various styles of robes and tunic, and keep their hair from the way most commonly associated with the deity. Some wear masks and others don’t. There’s usually at least one person wearing a mask with a sun pattern, one with a wave pattern, one with wind pattern and clouds, and one with a leaf or leaf vine pattern. These people all represent Denaštür’s ability to take many forms and duality of the deity, and their connection to all who live, regardless of birth element or element of their divined name.

They are followed by a cart with one chosen person of any gender of unparalleled beauty to represent the deity of the day, Nükiž, seated in an elevated gilded throne. This person must, aside from being beautiful, give off an air of knowing everything that has happened and will happen, as well as give off the feeling that they could be the eldest of four deities. It’s not uncommon for this person to be the child of a scholar or noble with a naturally lofty disposition, often at the end of the cycles of childhood. Being chosen to represent Nükiž in this seat of honour is considered a great honour.

Finally, oracles are last in the procession. Oracles are always of the “divine”, or üluk — the third gender — and during this parade they embody the way the deities are all and no sex simultaneously, while dressed to look like the deity whose element they’re associated with. Children often run up to the oracles in blue robes, as Denaštür represents motherhood, and many children tend to feel a strong affinity to the motherly depictions of the deity of seas, water, life and death.

The oracles who have joined are often asked by their families who have been part in organising the parade together with officials and retired officers, and the young masters and mistresses have usually asked to join. Dancers tend to be recruited in advance, many actually from the pleasure and entertainment districts. The parade represents the unity of the four deities, the cyclical nature including Nükiž, the eldest deity, with Šadiaran, the youngest deity, and then moving up in age to Nükiž, as well as the varied people of society.

The Arts

Although art, music, song and dance, as well as other forms of entertainment, are commonly associated with Ažbak and Šadiaran, these are commonly seen during Naral Židad, because Nükiž is the deity of writing and thus also considered the deity of storytelling.

Paintings

Paintings of Nükiž, mythological and legendary scenes are often displayed and sold by street vendors and artists. Additionally, paintings of renowned scholars are also common, considered to be the incarnations of Nükiž, children of Nükiž, or students of Nükiž. By keeping a painting like this at home, it’s believed to bring wisdom to the home. In some cases murals are painted as a show, always of mythological or legendary scenes.

Song and Dance

The purpose with singing and dance performances — often together and by a troupe — is to tell a story. Most commonly these are various legends said to be part of history. Some tales are of still living people, though, and a “fan favourite” among these stories of living people tend to be about General Kharanlar of the Emperor’s mobile elite army, the Ažamür Cavalry, and sometimes his apprentice or eldest son, known as the Ažamür Prince or Young Master Ažamür.

Most common legend is of the Golden Dragon Hero from centuries passed, said to be the establisher of the Kharanlar clan. That usually ends with General Kharanlar being the incarnation of said hero.

Other common stories performed are various stories about Nükiž, or romantic stories.

Storytelling

In addition to visual performances, storytellers will share stories similar to the performances, but these can be less action-filled and romantic, sharing episodes out of history, retelling the myth of the establishment of Zuladiar, or share tales of various scholars or emperors. They can also be of travellers, merchants or foreign tales.

Additionally, books are very commonly sold. Most are poetry books, but there are also original tales or retellings of known legends and myths. Books are often expensive, but in accordance with the belief in gifting items, books are often cheaper on this day, but they’re also fairly limited as a whole, so whether you get one or not, depends on good fortune and strategic thinking.

Others

In richer areas and households, tapestries are commonly displayed. These are often woven images of Nükiž and legendary images. They can also be patterned with sun wheels or other representative imagery. Small sculptures, edible figures, jewellery and wooden or jade carvings with symbols of Nükiž are equally common.

These art forms focus very specifically on Nükiž, so anyone wishing for other motifs will need to wait for days dedicated to the Deity of the sky, also known as the deity of Nü’ür and artistic pursuits.

Feasts

In the evening of the summer solstice, feasts are common. These are generally held by wealthy merchants and military families. These tend to begin about half through the second water hour (about 5:15 in the evening). During these feasts, a variety of foodstuffs tends to be offered, often traditional food for the host, so if they host is from the south, it’s more likely to include fish, while someone from the east would be more likely to include mutton.

This is one of the few times a year that officials and officers don’t need to worry about blending with merchants or other people, and they will often accept invites to one or two of these feasts. The feasts themselves tend to last through much of the night.

The various provinces and city-states all have at least high-ranking officials landing a more official banquet, and while these are lavish in terms of both food and decor, none of them can top the Imperial Banquet held by the Emperor.

Imperial Banquet

The Imperial Banquet is held in the palace complex dedicated to the Emperor, that is the Imperial Palace. It’s often in a pavilion found in the Imperial Gardens allowing the guests to see the weather phenomenon, be it rain or sunshine. It will be decorated with red silks and gold decor. There will be curtains for servants to drop down, would the weather be too unfavourable, or to add some privacy.

The Imperial Family is there — in Emperor’s Šerçian’s time that means eight sons, one divine child, the Empress and several concubines, as well as His Majesty’s children’s spouses and children. The Crown Prince as well as the ministers and most important military officers would all have been invited, as would several officials and the top scholar of this year’s examinations.

Once the guests and hosts have all arrived and taken a seat either on a cushion on the floor, or low seat as, the banquet begins with toasts to the scholar and any officials worth mentioning from one of the ministers. After that, each of the children and the Empress representing the harem will toast the Emperor and hold a speech, potentially toasting someone else too, such as the Crown Prince.

The food will be a blend of local and foreign, new and traditional, much like the guests are a blend of familiar faces and important foreign envoys. The main dishes will follow tradition, and be something from the host’s homeland, meaning it’s not uncommon for the Imperial Capital, and will be food eaten with primarily bread and with one’s hand, forgoing utensils over the ungracious use of for instance a fork.

From where they sit in the Imperial Gardens, the display of fire magic across the sky as the sunset draws close will be in essentially full view, allowing guests and host to watch it. The locals will often take the opportunity to explain to foreign envoys what it all means, even if it’s not the first time the envoy’s there to experience the mighty display.

Magic Display

There’s a fire magic display as the sun sets draws close, which at the time is most commonly done by members of military families. It’s arranged through the Imperial Palace, and those who create the show are chosen by officials. They will stand at high places and make fire displaces in the sky, ranging from birds to things like trees or try to recreate an image of the deity themselves. What image and what colour they should aim for, is listed on a scroll. They are also allowed to use materials to ensure the colour of the flames are correct.

This is one of the highlights for many and it’s something that almost exclusively happens in the different cities.

Night Market

During Naral Židad, nights will come to life, and the daytime vendors are joined by or make space for vendors ready to spend the nights lining streets and filling market squares with various goods. Meanwhile, artists found along the streets in the day join the crowd to celebrate the shortest night as the fires burn it away and lanterns brightens the streets.

The stalls tend to offer a range of foods, both local and foreign, traditional and things that are new. There are also a great variety of trinkets, jewellery, clothing, hair accessories and similar items that are sold everywhere.

There will be plenty of stalls selling lanterns, in particular in red and orange, and the very expensive ones might have gold on them. Some are traditional, lit by fire, but others use specific spells. People with sufficient knowledge in fire magic will get those, although they tend to be more expensive.

It’s also common to find travelling diviners and fortune-tellers. The latter is rather more common on the streets. They tend to earn a few coins thanks to people not wanting to crowd at the temples or leaving the area of the night market and the more lively part of the celebrations. As a rule, diviners don’t usually take any money for divining your fortune. What they tell you may also be highly specific, yet difficult to decipher.

Additional Information

Bans

The celebration doesn’t come without some restrictions, and this is especially tre in the imperial Capital.

In many cases, any sort of entertainment outside of what is for the celebration itself is banned. Anything that made need space, such as street performers dancing or performing acrobatics, is to be kept to a minimum or to a non-existent degree. Songs, art, dancers, operas and other such entertainment which is not of historical or mythological value or doesn’t involve Nükiž is outright forbidden on this day.

This is in part to avoid offending Ažbak, whose domain is entertainment, while Nükiž’s domain is leaning toward the intellectual.

There is also a risk that performers cause accidents related to the lanterns, touchers and bonfires lit. While most of the houses aren’t primarily made out of wood, there is still too high a risk a fire may break out. This is not a risk that they should be willing to take, thus performers outside of the very specific limitations are allowed.

This doesn’t include business in the pleasure or entertainment districts. As long as they don’t make use of additional fire and limit people, they should be fine to run their business. However, most establishments will close for the day and/or night and allow the performers, prostitutes and other people of similar professions to have a day off. Patrons generally respect this as well, not expecting the pleasure districts to even be open.

Local Exceptions

While those devoted to Denaštür may celebrate Naral Židad with gusto, there are some who don’t: soldiers and farmers. There are a few reasons for this, but it can in general be generally said it’s because of availability. As great as the celebrations may be in the cities and towns, it’s considered a relatively minor celebration in the lunisolar calendar. Farmers seldom live close enough to a town or city to join the celebrations and as it’s not the New Year or a harvest festival, they see it as lesser. Intellectuals won’t get the goods to grow, and they don’t necessarily have the time or willingness to be up half a night to celebrate and up the rest to get home.

Most border soldiers and the elite troops face similar situations. Only the garrison troupes stations in the various city-states would in general have the possibility to actually join, and that’s assuming that aren’t stationed and need to patrol. The garrison also tends to act like police in this case, breaking up fights, keeping people from setting houses on fire and the like.

The least likely to celebrate Naral Židad is ironically one of the popular depictions in stories: the Ažamür Cavalry and their General Kharanlar. They’re a mobile army patrolling the lands of Zuladiar and borders, as well as relaying messages from one area to another. When they’re not on the move, they’re only staying shortly or busy keeping peace.

In some areas, the people don’t celebrate Naral Židad at all. They may celebrate other holidays, due to a difference in belief system. They might also not celebrate anything, for instance if they’re Buddhists. According to the primary belief system of Zuladiar, this is perfectly acceptable. No matter the path, as long as your belief system is not one that promotes harm of your fellow people, be they friends or foes, it is a celebration of the four deities, because the belief all deities are some incarnation of the four they believe in.

Šamimi

Sometimes Naral Židad coincides with the day or fours, or Šamimi, Müimiša and Tuš Mi Šau Mi. Šamimi is a celebration of the connection of the four deities and is on the fourth day of the fourth month according to their lunisolar calendar. Šamimi is considered the most fortunate day because it’s a day of fours, and in some regions any celebration of Nükiž will be put aside for the celebration of good fortune and prosperity alone. In other places they won’t celebrate Šamimi because Nükiž is the deity of good fortune and prosperity. In general the division is west and North: favours Naral Židad, south and east: favours Šamimi. The Imperial Capital celebrates both, as do most trade hubs, such as Atnaš’ar and Žanutian’ur.

Q&A

What is a “cycle”?

In the culture of the characters in the novel, the people speak of cycles, and it’s very specifically 4 years. They often speak of the 4 cycles of childhood, which cover the 20 first years of a person’s life.

The maths checks out here, I promise! The first cycle would end at age 4, but during those 4 years a child hasn’t truly lived through a full cycle of 4 years. So some don’t even count the first few years as a cycle, some do count it while the fifth one is a “correction cycle”, to ensure that a child is fully grown up.

What’s up with their obsession with number 4?

It’s kind of been addressed in bits and pieces, but the number four is a lucky number. It’s a sacred number and sometimes you can see in nature according to them; the four elements representing four deities, how four deities were needed to create the world, the four season, the four times of day, the four moon phases, the four solar events (equinoxes and solstices).

This is also seen in ages, according to them. An example is that child mortality is high, and therefore the age 4 is an important milestone. You can then see significant developmental milestones at ages 8 and 12. Multiply 4 with 4 and you get 16, an age that would make you marriageable, although you’re only half an adult yet, so most would at most be engaged and encouraged to be semi-independent. Next developmental milestone is at 20, which is the age of majority.

Multiply 16 with 4 again, we get the age 64. Add the 4 first years, and we have 68. Passing that mark means you passed another stage, both in terms of mortality, and in terms of human development. At age 68 and older, people are considered wise and are by default respected for their longevity. They tend to be able to live several more years, possibly reaching even 80, which means you lived through no less than 4 full cycles of 4s, meaning 5 times 16 years. Some count this milestone at 84.

Additionally, 4 consists of 2 squared. Two people may be a couple or pair, but four people would already create a community. And community is important for the former nomads that created the empire of Zuladiar and the culture they live in.

I know this is a lot of maths, but that’s the significance of the lucky and sacred number of 4.

What is a “divined name”?

In conlang, it’s called adü nüruk and is literally a name that is divined for a person. This has to be done when the person is four years old, and if they don’t have a divined name, they’re said to be nameless, even if they were given a name at birth. In other words, the divined name is very important in their culture.

A divined name is said to guide you. Everyone has a fate, but everyone’s fate has many branches. So by using your divined name as a guide, you will find the path of your fate that is the most fortunate. Nükiž is the deity of divination, so divined names is their territory, although all deities are said to offer diviners names.Diviners associated with Nükiž is said to give the most accurate names, while those connected to Denaštür offer people the longest, healthiest life. Ažbak comes with a good afterlife and Šadiaran protection in life.

Imperial names, adü tat, are chosen by the emperor, often after seeking counsel with a diviner, and can be considered an alternative to divined names. The reason they are chosen is that names are themed. The Imperial family in Emperor Šerçian’s time is animal themed, and the further extended family is named after trees or flowers.

Not having a divined name (or Imperial name) is considered back luck and most people avoid people lacking a divined name.

What are the “Inner”, “Outer” and “Imperial Cities”?

The Imperial Capital, formerly called Anmarti, is divided in the layers. The core is the Imperial City and is where the majority of the palaces are as well as all the governmental buildings. It’s a fairly large area with several palace complexes within. One of the few palaces outside of it is Fragrant Breeze Palace which was originally meant for a line of foreign royal blood, meaning they weren’t part of the Imperial Clan.

Inner City is what surrounds The Imperial City. The two are divided by a heavily guarded wall. Inner City is for the wealthy and all the nobles and some of the more distant people of the Imperial Clan. Important military clans have their main families there and most important military officers and governmental officials have a residence there as well. The closer to the Imperial City, the more important it’s considered. Inner City is also divided in sections, with nobles living in one area, governmental officials in one area, the extremely wealthy in the first and military families in the last.

The division isn’t absolute though. Fragrant Breeze Palace has noble and military residences nearby, but isn’t in the noble area, but in the area with wealthy merchants.

The Outer City is around the Inner City. It’s also divided off of the Inner City with a guarded wall. Most people, such as artisans, merchants, most governmental officials, all minor officers and other soldiers and other people lacking status live here. This is also where you’ll find most of the shops as well as the pleasure district. It’s still within the actual Imperial Capital wall, which surrounds Outer City. The outermost wall is thickest and most heavily guarded. There are people who have settled down outside of the wall as well, but they can’t afford to live within it.

What is a “divine”?

In the society depicted in Blood of Destinies Rewritten, there are three basic genders, meaning the society has a trinary society in terms of gender. The divine, or üluk, is the third gender and is the embodiment of neither being obviously man or woman, male or female. Clothes, accessories and hairstyles in Zuladiar are already very gender neutral, so this is primarily depending on whether a person acts within basic stereotypes and remains within the spectrum of being a human male or human female. In the story, Prince U’il is a great example of being a divine — he embodies all and no gender and sex freely, switching between what he finds convenient at the time.

It’s important to note that being divine is not the same as being nonbinary or lacking gender, it’s more a static identity that has limitations to what is considered “divine” and not. The equivalent of being nonbinary is someone who doesn’t define themselves as divine either, meaning in this society, non binary people are nontrinary. Agender people are still agender, whether that “agender” means having a gender or being without one. Being a divine is also not being transgender, as it doesn’t go beyond their concept of gender. Üluk comes from üleg uk, or “spirit deity”, implying that the person embodies the “spirit” of a deity or was born with a small part of one of the four deities’ souls. It doesn’t make them a deity or non-human. The word üluk is also used to say something is divine, celestial, godlike, etc, though it’s generally not used as an adjective.

Is the Crown Prince not part of the Imperial Family?

The Heir Apparent tends to be the firstborn among the next generation after the Emperor’s. That means that the Emperor’s nephew can very well become Heir Apparent. This is what happened during Emperor Šerçian’s era — one of his brothers had a son before First Blood Prince Ažerlü was born, leading the Crown Prince not to be in direct lineage with the Emperor. However, if the Emperor and court do agree that the Heir Apparent is unfit for the role of monarch, the Emperor can strip the Heir Apparent of the title. The Emperor doesn’t have to give anyone the title after that, but there is a certain order in who is next in line for the throne.

In short, the Crown Prince is the Emperor’s nephew in this case, so while part of the Imperial Clan and a close relative, he’s not from the Imperial Family.

Additionally, “Blood Prince” refers to a prince who’s a son of the Emperor. “Elder Princes” are the Emperor’s brothers, and just “Prince” refers to any prince. There are provincial princes (and princesses) as well, who come from a royal bloodline, but who don’t have any real power unless they become a governmental official and do the work. Prince of Üban is an example of a more influential Provincial Prince.

What is Nü’ür, the Ažamür Cavalry, and other such terms?

Nü’ür is the afterlife. Nü comes from nür, meaning sun or light, ’ür is a location suffix, so basically it means the land of light. It’s guarded by Ažbak.

The Ažamür Cavalry is the elite army of the Emperor. The Ažamür Cavalry has many roles, patrolling the borders, patrolling within them to ensure tribes don’t make trouble, checking in on vassal states to make sure they don’t rebel, keeping peace in general, staying at relay stations and having messages sent across the realm, and so on. They’re a mobile elite army led by Elsan Fagar from the Kharanlar clan, who also personally leads the first division army of the Ažamür Cavalry. The first division is where Çetžak Züčan was a trainee and later rose to an officer rank at a young age.

Additionally, the Imperial Bodyguards are technically part of the Ažamür Cavalry, but they’re an autonomous division stationed permanently by the Emperor’s side. Only the absolute best can enter the Imperial Bodyguards.

Žanutian’ur is a vassal city-state and an influential city of the south. It’s an important connection between the Silk Routes and the Imperial Capital in the north.

Atnaš’ar is a former city-state that was ruled by the, at the time, influential clan of Atnaš. It’s also an important connection for trade between the north and south, but also to the western regions.

To compare, the Imperial Capital has always had more trade with nomadic tribes of the north and toward the more northern and northwestern areas, being at one of the lesser known trade routes historically, compared to the Silk Routes that range from east to west.

Did these locations actually exist?

Yes and no.

The names are made up, but the locations of the cities, towns and villages in the novel all correspond to approximate locations we have found archeological proof of settlements. Many of these have been settlements that have risen and fallen or moved for different reasons. Meaning that the locations would be more or less real, historically and could very well have existed, but none of them have existed.

…as far as we know and in our timeline of history, that is.

What are these “fire” and “water” hours you speak of?

The culture in my novel puts a lot of emphasis on two things: the deities and their elements, and the number four. There are four deities, leading to a division of sixteen hours in a day. The day is as such divided into four sections, of four hours, which each would be equivalent to 90 minutes according to a 24-hour day.

These hours are called, first, second, third and fourth hour of whichever section in the day it is. The first section is the fire hours, starting at 9 in the morning and ends at 3 in the afternoon. This is followed by water, air and earth. So noon is the end of the second and beginning of the third fire hour, because noon is when the sun is at its highest point. You can remember that the air hours are in the middle of the night because the air deity represents the afterlife, and water hours are in the evening because the water deity is the one who decides your death.

So morning: protection from Šadiaran; day: learning and growing wisdom with Nükiž; evening: end of life with Denaštür; night: the afterlife with Ažbak — it represents the life cycle.

What is Blood of Destinies Rewritten?

Blood of Destinies Rewritten, also BoDR, is a lengthy, multi-volume historical novel with low-fantasy elements. It’s divided into 2 parts, and I only really share from the first part.

The first part follows Çuiren from being a slave to becoming Empress while the second part continues from that. The first part also follows Prince U’il and his motivations to helping Çuiren, providing the reader with flashbacks to see his past to better understand why Prince U’il’s the way he is and what his motivations are.

In the process of the story we also learn more about the court, Prince U’il’s guard Çetžak Züčan and his subordinates Nür and Židad, and Prince U’il’s slaves, servants and attendants, in particular Erian, Eris, Kasrei, Kakir and Labahid.

Who are the characters?

Important characters of the novel

Çuiren: The protagonist. She’s originally a farmer’s daughter sold to slavery. She ends up in Prince U’il’s care. She’s nameless as her parents could afford going to a temple to have her name divined. She has no plans on staying a slave, and won’t stay one either.

Prince U’il: The deuteragonist. Also known as the Ninth Blood Prince U’il. Has a mysterious past and spends his days scheming and playing oblivious. He’s oblivious to love though. He gave up a lot to be Prince, but didn’t become a prince because he wanted to. He’s an untraditional beauty, looking a bit thin (or a lot thin) according to their standards. U’il translates to “butterfly”. He has a butterfly shaped birthmark on his chest.

Çetžak Züčan: The deuteragonist’s love interest(?). Imperial Bodyguard. Good friends with Prince U’il, who is the one he’s the bodyguard of. He’s happy as long as he’s next to his prince. Used to be an apprentice in the Ažamür Cavalry and is from the Atnaš clan. His divined name Züčan translates to “strength”.

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Erian: Prince U’il’s most favoured attendant. He understands his master well and also feels a lot of second-hand embarrassment because of that. Formerly a slave. He’s very resourceful and not from within the borders of Zuladiar. It’s unknown if his name is actually Erian.

Židad: One of Çetžak’s direct subordinates and was originally part of the Ažamür Cavalry. He respects Çetžak a lot, even if he’s several years older. And it’s not only because Çetžak rose above Židad’s rank before Židad had time to blink. The name Židad here is the same as in Naral Židad, meaning “darkness”.

Nür: Çetžak’s other trusted direct subordinate. He’s younger and someone Çetžak picked up over time. They’re closer in age and get along well, with Nür bringing out the more fun-loving side of his superior. He also teases him about his one-sided love. A lot. Nür translates to “sun” or “light”.

Anžil: The third child of the Provincial Prince of Üban, and Çuiren’s future husband. Yes, that means he’ll be emperor in the future. No, Çuiren’s the monarch. He and Prince U’il are second cousins and have some similarities in their looks, such as the golden eyes, but Prince U’il has foreign features to his appearance, while Anžil is more of a traditional beauty. He’s called the most beautiful man of the world by some, especially once he’s passed the youth and has a more mature look to him. Anžil is the name of Persian ironwood.

Mentioned in this post

Emperor Šerçian of Zualu Diar: The monarch before Çuiren. Prince U’il’s father. Šerçian means “lion”.

Empress Daragül: the Emperor’s primary wife. Daragül is foreign but coincides with dar agül, “radiant mother”.

The Crown Prince of Zualu Diar: The Crown Prince. The oldest son of his generation and Prince U’il third oldest cousin. He was supposed to be Çuiren’s master, but circumstances changed.

Prince Ažerlü: Prince U’il’s oldest half-brother and the Empress’s firstborn. The imperial name Ažerlü translates to “dragon”.

Kasrei: Prince U’il’s chambermaid and the servant he has had the longest. He trusts her to keep him groomed and beautiful. She’s often the one arranging his hair and doing his makeup. Kasrei is a verb translating “to arrange clothing in a beautiful way” or “to dress lavishly”.

Kakir: The steward of Prince U’il’s estate. He handles everything from the work servants and slaves do to the many different accounts that Prince U’il has for different goals. He also keeps track of the property the prince owns and knows which to acknowledge openly and which is to be hidden from plain sight. Kakir translates to “scroll”.

Eris: A slave girl. She’s about Çuiren’s age and is very satisfied with her status because she’s paying off a debt to Prince U’il. She’s determined to serve the prince for life. Eris is simply “iris”, the flower.

Labahid: Another slave girl. Much like Eris, she’s paying off a debt. Although not determined to serve Prince U’il for life, she’s willing to stay with him as a servant if he’s willing to keep her once the debt is paid. She hopes to earn some money and get married eventually, hopefully with the Prince’s blessing too. Labahid is also a foreign name.

Prince of Üban: A prince of a province in the eastern regions.

Elsan Fagar: The general of the Ažamür Cavalry, and thus the commander of the mobile elite troupes. He only follows the Emperor’s direct orders. From the Kharanlar clan, and the only apprentice he’s had is Çetžak. Fagar translates to “authority”.

I will most likely edit this post later with images. I really, really spent way more time than planned on it. And again, I’m on holiday to recuperate.

Last Edited:

January 9, 2024