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Encyclopedia of the Known Universe Vol I (excerpt 14 – appendix to “E” entry on evolution)
The Hafjeris originated on the planet Wiis that is currently inhabited by the Rhadswiis. The Hafjeris evolved from birdlike creatures that were native to Wiis, and they formed a symbiotic relationship with the ramlike creatures that were also native and eventually evolved into the Bromeris. The Bromeris biological ancestor was as big as an earthling bear and existed as docile creatures at the same time as the primitive Rhadswiiis that resembled the ancient apelike Earthling ancestor, and because their relationship was mostly indifferent – neither bothered the other because they did not enjoy the taste of one another’s flesh and they never competed for habitat because the Bromeris were primarily mountain dwellers and the Rhadswiis preferred level ground – they evolved over millennia alongside each other. The Bromeris now walk on two legs like the Rhadswiis and Earthlings, but they are generally much hairier all over their bodies and they have very prominent horns. The Hafjeris originated as small birdlike creatures who nested in the horns of the Bromeris. The Bromeris appreciated a strong Hafjeran companion to live in their horns because they cleaned their bodies of pests as their nourishment and they served as lookouts to warn of coming danger. The mountains of Wiis are extensive and cover much of the planet’s habitable lands. The Hafjeris eventually evolved as the Bromeris and came to stand upright. They became what essentially amounts to pets of the Bromeris who bred the species to be taller and more like the sentient civilizations of the Rhadswiis and the Bromeris. As the Hafjeris matured, they started to feel subordinate to the Bromeris and they eventually decided that the only way they could achieve equal footing was to have a planet of their own. Some Hafjeris liken their time on Wiis to slavery, which is not an unfair characterization. It’s true that Hafjeris instincts evolved from that initial, mutually beneficial relationship that taught them to care for their Bromeris partners, but as the Bromeris changed, they had little need for the Hafjeris other than amusement and experimentation, and the Hafjeris were unable to own lands and have entrepreneurial enterprises like the Bromeris. This was mostly an oversight because the Bromeris had underestimated the mental faculties of the Hafjeris and never considered that they would want homes of their own away from the Bromeris who allowed them to live in their homes and assist at their businesses for no money. The Bromeris are mostly peaceful and have seen very few wars in their history, but some Hafjeris had grown resentful and waged attacks against the Bromeris out of protest over the slow movement by the government of the time to update laws to acknowledge the Hafjeris as equal to the Bromeris.
The continued animosity between the Hafjeris and Bromeris stems from treaties that have been drafted since the fracturing of the society on Wiis. No member of the Hafjeris species is allowed to step foot on the planet Bromeran, and vice versa, as the Bromeris have sought to severe ties altogether because of what they viewed as unprovoked Hafjeris hostilities on Wiis. The Bromeris have lobbied for official condemnation from the Interstellar Panel and for intervention by sympathetic civilizations to intervene on the planet Hafjeran on behalf of the Renting Class who they say live in veritable slave conditions on their planet. The Hafjeris representative to the counsel has manage to block this condemnation and any intervention from the counsel. The Hafjeris Ruling Class has worked covertly with the military to undermine the Bromeris on the universal stage and they have planned attacks against the civilization that they threaten will be enacted if the Bromeris do not cease their diplomatic actions against the Hafjeris that they feel undermines their culture.
– Issue 4 – A Mother’s Comfort
Whadgaf remembers walks with her mother after the work day was done. Whadgaf’s mother is a beautiful woman, but the aesthetics of her face and the proportion of her body are not her claim to fame. As a member of the Hafjeris Flight Command, Cieela Jiris, is known as one of the best trainers of new recruits that the Command has ever seen. On their walks together, Cieela would discuss the deficiencies in the new recruits that she had spent her day whipping into shape.
“It’s like they enjoy being knocked out of the air,” she said to Whadgaf one day she was particularly frustrated. “The Bromeris don’t fight often, but they have obvious advantages that our soldiers must overcome. I don’t know that we will ever be prepared.”
Whadgaf listened humbly as they strolled the park that was located within the high stone walls that surrounded the Jiris building. The trees on Hafjeran are all extremely tall, and their leaves spread out like giant wings from the top. They have extensive root systems that often grow up from the ground and create long snaking trails of dark brown along the plains of low brown grass that make up the flat lands of Hafjeran. Whadgaf manuevers the roots, jumping from one to the next, and Cieela smiles at her. She loved to see her daughter innocently enjoying the simple life that she and her husband worked hard to give to their children. They have a total of four children, the youngest two are military trainees with the Hafjeris Ground Command in the city stronghold of the Dharle family, and their oldest son was studying with economists at the premier Hafjeris University of Financial Management. Cieela and her husband Wadged, had worked very hard for their station in life. Wadged had studied diligently to become the heir of the Jiris family, and she had trained from adolescence to follow in her father’s footsteps to become a member of the Flight Command. And she took the job training new recruits so that she could ensure that the Hafjeris military would always be able to defend the life they had worked so hard for.
“I’ll join flight command,” Whadgaf said, as she jumped from a particularly large root. “I’ll be a good recruit.”
Cieela smiled at her daughter. “You are the oldest of your siblings. Your destiny is already set.”
Whadgaf would essentially become her father when the time came that he was ready to retire. In the meantime, she was expected to work with her father as her primary education before she would start periods of study at the financial university. She was OK with that. Her father’s life, and the life that he had been able to make for his family, close family friends, and really all of the citizens of the city of Jeriel, was the only thing that Whadgaf had ever known and she was proud of her position as the heir of Wadged Jiris. But she would have been just as happy to be the heir of her mother’s destiny. She loved the chance to see her mother in action, when she was able to steal away from the reading and mathematics exercises that her father gave her. Cieela moved through the air with what looked like no effort. She could easily change direction and altitude without losing much speed, and she was in complete control of her body; her wings, her arms and legs were never slack with inaction. She was a picture of control and grace, and in a fight she was ruthless. She had no qualms knocking her students out of the air; an act that is punishable by imprisonment in the general population. Cieela felt that the most important lesson the new recruits needed to learn was how to avoid, or at least quickly recover from being hit hard enough that they were unable to keep themselves in the air. She would not knock them unconscious, but she knew the pressure points to hit that would immobilize one wing. Most Hafjeris have not had to try and fly with just one wing to avoid plummeting to their death, so if something happens by chance that may leave them incapacitated, they are justifiably ill prepared. But Cieela taught her recruits how to control their panic and glide down on one wing in big circles. Everyone in flight command wears parachutes during battle, so this is not a skill that any other trainer cares to emphasize, but Cieela wanted to be prepared in every possible scenario. Whadgaf learned to fly with one wing when she was very young. And she learned to fight over the many years that she observed her mother. It was as though she had passively inherited her mother’s fire and passion for a good fight. Like it was buried deep inside of her.
Six month into her life at the lair of the Auburn Order, Whadgaf was done plotting her escape. Every idea she dreamed up had the same ending; her being dragged back to the lair, then beaten, then starved for a day, then lectured at. They would not give up trying to convince her to betray her family, she knew that it was the only thing that mattered to them and they had risked their lives to kidnap her. They would not let her go easily. But her captivity was becoming unbearable.
Liuar oversaw the hard labor that was her punishment following the apparent, and ultimately faked, death of the man Frial. Whadgaf did repair work on the solar panels that provided energy to the lair, and she would fly miles in a day with heavy sacks of materials to replace broken panels. Liuar never spoke to her, he only yelled at her to move faster. Whadgaf’s wings ached and her fingers were bruised and bloody by the end.
And one morning when Liuar barged into the room where Whadgaf slept, he was alarmed to find her curled up in a ball on a the floor. She sobbed and her body convulsed when she took deep breaths.
Liuar had to collect himself. As a father, the vision of the girl on the floor made him sympathetic. But he shook it and yelled, “Get up!”
Whadgaf lifted her head, tears streaming her face. “I want to go home. I want my mother. I’ll do whatever you say, just please let me go home.”
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