All my life, I followed the principles set out by men before me. Only now after leaving my homeland do I realize how narrow-minded I was, and how similar women can be to men.

Hm... Quite an interesting word provided to us by ThursdayPrompt . I'm not sure how many folks have read my story Synchronicity or how many have noticed, but three of the major characters are asexual. That might be saying something about the author... So, seeing "sex" as the word prompt for the week, I knew that I wasn't going to take it in that direction. Instead, I went for its definition as "biological trait." As always, enjoy the story!

Glossary:


Halik: The twin god of fire, war, and magic. The weathered and cracked carvings in his temple read: "At the beginning, he laid out the Edicts, shaping and constraining the flow of ether. In that way, he set the Paths for mortals to follow to great glory and fortune."

Dutuin: The twin goddess of ice, wisdom, and magic. The carefully-preserved ancient texts in her temple read: "From nothing, she created the River of ether that flows through the world of Alka. In that way, she provided an Opportunity for life to flourish forever more."

spells/magic: Every spell in Alka requires ingredients of some kind, and many of these spells come in the form of potions. The art of spellcraft involves careful measurements, specific techniques and also a touch of etherial manipulation. Without a mage's inborn talent, not even a person following a spell's recipe to the letter can hope to create one for themselves.

ether: Sometimes called lifeforce or mana, this is a mysterious energy that suffuses the world, allowing mages to cast spells and giving rise to many strange, magical plants and animals.

alk: The anthropomorphic residents of the world of Alka call themselves alks to differentiate themselves from the animals that they resemble.

Hali'Tuin: This is best described as a continent of extremes. Hali is a humid hellish jungle, full of deadly animals and virulent disease. On the other side of the Twin's Divide mountain range, Tuin is a frozen, desolate wasteland. Despite the harsh conditions, the people that live there, the Halini and Tuini, have managed to carve out a niche for themselves with clever inventions and mighty magic.

mer: The common term for any sort of marine alk, but especially fish alks.

Meric: Given the difficulty of sound traveling through water, mers devised a language that uses hand signs, not spoken words. In the lands above the waves, it is used for a different purpose, leading to its second name: thieves' cant.

D'uns: A shortening of Dutuin used as a euphemism for women's breasts.

Verdish/Verdania: With its numerous trade routes, wealth of magical resources, and status as the seat of Belbatoria's worship, it is not uncommon to hear people say that Verdania is the center of the world. Even those living in the most remote areas of Alka know at least a few words of Verdish.

Belbatoria: The proud goddess of order, light, and knowledge. Of all of the gods and their followers, hers are the most numerous, with devotees across the entire world, even under the waters of the ocean.

Dothos: As the largest nation under the sea, Dothos supplies many rare and exotic goods to the surrounding countries above the waves, especially Verdania. Unlike most other societies around the world, the Dothoine are strictly matriarchal.

zoomorphic: Sometimes, alks, especially snakes, birds, and mers, are born missing certain anthropomorphic traits or with extraneous ones, more closely matching their animal counterparts. Depending on the culture, such differences are either accepted or even celebrated, or they are erased with impunity.