TEXT: 1
  Copyright 1975
  The Splendour of Shényu
  by M.A.R. Barker
  Many players of “Empire of the Petal Throne” have asked for information on the Shén, the
  great reptilian race which inhabits the hot lands south of Livyánu.  Of all of the nonhuman races
  of Tékumel, the Shén, the Pé Chói, and the Ahoggyá seem to be the most interesting to players,
  and in a number of campaigns players have asked to play the part of one of these beings.  It is
  especially difficult to take on the role of an alien creature, of course, and referees should perhaps
  advise this only for exceptionally imaginative players.  It is not just a matter of being nearly
  seven feet tall, covered with black scales, and tremendously powerful; there are important mental
  and cultural differences as well.  Some of these will be explained below, while other, more subtle
  attitudes may perhaps be left to the players to develop.
  Historically, the Shén worlds lie around Antares (alpha Scorpii).  When man first
  encountered them, they had already developed interstellar flight and what humans called the
  “three-light drive”, a modification of the torque-stress interdimensional drive used by mankind.
  At first the Shén were neutral to man, but they soon determined that if they remained passive, the
  aggressive human worlds would expand and envelop their region and stiffly resisted human
  attempts to push them off.  A series of small engagements resulted, and both sides suffered
  losses.  Eventually men and Shén came to realise that this was a fruitless enterprise—the logistics
  of interstellar war are too difficult to make it profitable—and the Treaty of T’kru (the Shén world
  capital) was signed.  Trade developed, and mutual respect also came into being.  Although
  ferocious in battle, the Shén had never been needlessly cruel—and fortunately at this time in
  human history the forces fighting the Shén were followers of the Transporters, a highly
  moralistic, authoritarian, almost prudish sect.  Neither side thus committed atrocities, and peace
  came easily once war was done.
  The Shén accompanied man to Tékumel as trading partners, setting up a largish mission on
  the southern continent.  This region was too hot for humans but suited the heat-loving Shén very
  well indeed.  Shén records, like human history, do not extend back to the “Time of Darkness”,
  when Tékumel and its sun were cast into a pocket dimension of their own, but it is clear that
  volcanism, storms, and tidal waves swept away much of this original colony, leaving only a small
  enclave in what is now Shényu.  The Shén epic, “the Recital of Ss-tr”, describes in allegorical
  terms the founding of the city of Ssoruá and the struggles of the earliest settlers.  Volcanic
  activity continued for centuries, both in the southern continent and in the region of the Spouting
  Mountains in Shényu.  Nevertheless, the colony persevered and eventually prospered.  There was
  little conflict with the humans, who were based farther to the northeast in what is now Tsolyánu
  and Mu’ugalavyá, and the ancient strongholds of the native races, the Ssú and the Hlüss, were
  ruthlessly exterminated.
  
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  It may be useful to describe the Shén in more detail than was given in “Empire of the Petal
  Throne”: the “male” Shén (really the egg-creator) is the tallest of the species, ranging up to
  almost seven feet in height.  The “female” (the egg-layer) is smaller and more delicate.  The third
  sex (the egg-fertiliser) is of intermediate height.  The males have gleaming black scales, a
  glittering crest of spiny points which can be raised or kept flat against the skull, a beak-like
  snout, and three-fingered hands with an opposable thumb.  The females are of a blue-black-grey
  colour, and their crests are smaller.  The egg-fertiliser is sometimes hard to identify for humans,
  since he (she?  it?) is similar in appearance to a male, somewhat less black, with tinges of grey on
  the belly and on the inside of the limbs.  All Shén have greyish areas around their reddish eyes,
  which have a vertical black pupil.  There are some further sub-species of other colourations as
  well, but these tend to be from egg-groups (cf. below) outside of Shényu.  In their own land the
  Shén wear little clothing, preferring only a harness upon which to hang a pouch, a weapon, etc.
  Those who emerge to fight in human armies, however, often lacquer their crests in metallic
  colours, wear a metal-link belt with a small metal groin guard over a loincloth of red or blue
  cloth, and add epaulettes of metal to their harness.  Shén also enjoy having more complete body
  armour and use scale mail sewn on leather, a helmet of metal (copper trim is preferred) or of
  Chlén-hide (which they do not like but wear when necessary), vambraces and greaves of metal,
  etc.  Shén females wear nothing more than a harness, although they may lacquer designs on their
  dorsal scales, and the third sex, the egg-fertiliser, tends to copy the fashions of the males,
  although with subtle differences which can be perceived by a Shén but which humans may not be
  able to identify.
  The central feature of Shén culture, perhaps, is the division into “egg-groups”: i.e. lineages of
  individuals descended from the same male and female (the egg-fertiliser, who comes along after
  the eggs are laid to fertilise them, may be different).  A Shén receives cooperation, support, and
  assistance from his/her/its own egg group.  With other egg-groups, neutrality or downright
  hostility is to be expected, and this is perhaps the main reason why the Shén have never
  developed into a unified, world-conquering species on Tékumel.  The plants and drugs which
  were used to suppress this inter-egg-group hostility on their own world are no longer available on
  Tékumel, and thus the Shén behave instinctively much as their ancestors must have done on the
  hot, rocky plateaus of Antares IV before these tranquilising substances were discovered.
  The egg-group division is primary for the Shén, and this has resulted in the many small
  “states” north of Shényu: these are enclaves of egg-groups which have split off from one of the
  central egg-groups of Shényu, gone through a period of “neutrality”, and then, as time passed,
  drifted far enough away genetically to be classified as “hostile”.  Shén informants have stated
  that in every clutch of eggs there are always some infants which do not “smell right” (the actual
  Shén term is untranslatable).  The mother weeds these out, killing and eating them as she finds
  them, but occasionally some escape to run away.  These exiles often die of starvation or are
  caught and killed, but a few survive to reach the northern enclaves.  If they are lucky, they may
  find an egg-group to which they “smell right”, and they are then accepted into that group.  They
  may occasionally meet other “exiles” and found a new egg-group of their own.  This natural
  process tends to fragment Shén society and to create continual trouble.
  
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  The matter is complicated by the recurrence of the “mating season” during the hottest months
  of the year, when the temperature in Shényu reaches approximately 60° C. (approx. 140° F.).
  During this period males from the same or different egg-groups will fight each other on sight, if
  there is a female with one of them.  This fighting is instinctive, and weapons are not used—just
  teeth, claws, and tail.  Females are kept sequestered, usually in the care of the egg-fertilisers, who
  do not participate in the fighting.  The Shén are largely monogamous, forming permanent unions
  with just one mate, whom they protect and with whom they live.  The egg-fertiliser sex, however,
  is not part of these unions, dwelling first with one couple, then with another, within their egg-
  group, fertilising each couple’s eggs in turn.  Each yearly clutch of eggs produces infant Shén
  within about a two-week period, and these are cared for by the mother and by older female Shén
  who are past the egg-laying stage.  Many of these infants die before maturation, killed by their
  brothers and sisters in rough play within the “nest”.  Whenever there is too great a preponderance
  of one sex, the elderly females also weed out the weaklings, snapping off heads and eating the
  excess infants.  This is only too often the fate of infant egg-fertilisers, not too many of whom are
  required by the egg-group for its continuation—but it is not correct to apply human standards
  here!
  The exact structure of Shén government is not clear.  Senior males seem to dominate within
  each egg-group, and the larger egg-groups in turn dominate lesser, neutral or friendly-related
  ones.  Elderly females appear to have a strong say in matters affecting the egg-group as well, but
  the third sex, the egg-fertilisers, have no political or social power and go about performing their
  endless task with no desire to do otherwise.  Each Shén city is organised around a centrally
  powerful egg-group or cluster of related egg-groups.  The elderly males regularly meet (except in
  mating season) in a sort of loosely democratic council, in which one’s status is determined by
  age, prestige (e.g., due to the size and power of one’s egg-group), and personal charisma.  This
  council, called the H´rg-Ssá, organises the functions of government: trade, shipping, policing,
  military matters, etc.  Within Shényu, these councils cooperate with those of other cities, since all
  are of friendly-related or neutral egg-group lineage.  There is no such cooperation with the
  fragmented hostile egg-group states to the north.
  The Shén are great traders.  Much of their commerce is internal, with the Ch´r melon (their
  main dietary staple when at home—from which they make a bitter, pungent bread-like cake,
  edible but not pleasant to humans) forming their main trade item for the interior to the coast.  In
  return, the coastal cities supply fish, crustaceans, insects of various types (also part of the Shén
  diet), and other sea products, as well as items traded in from human cultures.  Although not very
  much given to acquatics themselves, the Shén also maintain a large fleet of ships for trading
  purposes.  For their galleys, the Shén purchase human slaves, since they themselves dislike
  rowing.  They also have a strong navy of fighting ships, sometimes powered by sails, sometimes
  rowed by hapless humans.  The Shén mine gold (hexes 0921, 0822, and 0918 being their major
  mine sites), but this they use largely as a trade item.  They prefer copper for their own
  decorations, and this is mined in hex 0721 at the headwaters of the K´r´r-gr´ü River.  Gems—
  mostly opals and carnelian—are found in hexes 1021 and 1022 and are traded out to daring
  human captains by the Shén of the little principality of Rá at a settlement on Sarír Bay (hex
  1126).  Iron is also mined (probably in hex 0814), but this is kept a secret, and humans are not
  permitted to view these workings.
  
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  From human lands, the Shén import glass, pottery (they are poor potters), more copper,
  Chlén-hide, wines (Shényu is too hot to support good grapes), cloth, condiments, and some food
  items.
  Within Shényu the military is largely made up of males, although occasionally females are
  also found serving with their “husbands”.  The permanent army is composed of “legions” (the
  Shén term is something like Gá-H´r) of 2,401 individuals; these are divided into seven Sh´r-G´ü
  of 343 individuals each; in turn these are composed of seven Chá-Ss of forty-nine individuals
  apiece, and each of these units contains seven Tá-K´r of seven Shén.  The exact number of these
  “legions” is not known, but it is estimated that ten to fifteen are available around Ssoruá, another
  eight to twelve around Qeleqmú, eight to ten around Chrí, and an unknown number of others
  scattered around the land.  It is difficult to assess Shén military power since almost all male Shén
  belong to one or another of these military units, yet when off-duty they are free to pursue other
  business and do not dress or act as “warriors”.  The “army” of Shényu, thus, is rather a sort of
  well-organised militia than a separate, standing army.  Most of these troops (if one can call them
  that) are armed in traditional Shén fashion with long halberds, their favorite axe-swords (a three
  or four foot long sword-like weapon with a heavy chopper on the end), and the small “pistol”
  crossbow, a hand-held, hand-cocked weapon which fires short quarrels.  Occasionally units are
  armed with long spears and even pikes, probably in imitation of human infantry.  The Shén are
  too clumsy to make good archers, although their field ballistæ and siege onagers are much
  admired by human military experts.
  The Shén are also but indifferent magicians.  They make use of such technological “magic”
  as Eyes, amulets, etc., but their use of spells is very poor and limited.  This may be due to their
  clumsiness, to their mental “set” which keeps them from reaching through to the
  interdimensional force lines which provide power for magic on Tékumel, or it may be because of
  the lack of strong force lines in this part of Tékumel.  Unlike the northern regions, this area
  (including Tsoléi), possesses few interdimensional force lines and nexus points upon which a
  magic user can draw for power.  Spells, thus, may be used only once by a newcomer and then
  quickly grow ineffective.  The Shén, it is rumoured, possess a number of ancient technological
  weapons, preserved from the period of high technology before the Time of Darkness.  It is said
  that these include aircars and some powered artillery, but naturally this is kept a state secret by
  the Shén.
  Indeed, the Shén have little need for more permanent military forces.  An attack from the
  north would have to come from Livyánu, through the many small Shén states (which are
  similarly organised) and through the ravines and low foothills which stretch from Shrüké’el over
  to the great massif of the Spouting Mountains.  Along the southern coasts of Shényu there is
  another natural barrier; the Morcháptla Swamps, an area of low bogs, tidal inlets, quicksands,
  and humid, low jungle.  Although the Livyáni have occasionally warred with the Shén enclave of
  Mmatugúal and even once made an attempt upon Boch’ún, the great Shén city in the foothills of
  the Spouting Mountains, they have not tried to penetrate further south.  Human and Shén
  settlements are intermingled in northern Mmatugúal, becoming solidly Shén as one travels south.
  So confident are the Shén of their isolation that they have not imitated the human Sákbe Road
  system except in Mmatugúal.  South of the great Héng-Hr´üggash-Boch’ún road, the Shén roads
  
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  are at ground level, paved with great blocks of volcanic basalt, and only occasionally guarded by
  squat watchtowers and fortresses.
  For game purposes, the religion of the Shén was simplified to agree with that of Tsolyánu;
  i.e., a Shén can be identified as “good” or “evil” and may worship any of the twenty Tsolyáni
  deities much as his human colleagues do.  In fact, however, the Shén have two great deities of
  their own: the One of Eggs and the One Who Rends.  So far as can be ascertained, the first of
  these deities corresponds to Avánthe (with overtones also of Hnálla and Thúmis), while the
  second is a counterpart of Vimúhla (with certain aspects of Hrü’ü and the scientific bent of
  Ksárul thrown in).  The few Shén willing to discuss this matter have said that the One of Eggs is
  more passive, more interested in the continuation and preservation of society, more cohesive and
  constructive, while the One Who Rends stands for the instinctive violence which underlies the
  Shén temperament, the need to destroy and establish one’s individual power over others.  There
  are also many minor deities, demons, and local forces (e.g., the sailors of Ssoruá begin each
  voyage with a sacrifice to Hú-Shrá, Lord of Winds), but these are not of the same level as the two
  major deities.  It is quite clear that these deities exist for the Shén much as the gods of Tsolyánu
  exist for humans.  It is only when Shén journey out of their lands to seek service with human
  societies that they may be found worshipping the “human” deities—apparently they are quick to
  identify their two great principles with the most closely related counterpart in the human
  pantheon, and so long as they are abroad, they worship this.  Upon their return, they revert to the
  worship of their own deities.
  It may be noted here that comparatively few Shén opt for service in human territory.  Most of
  these are young males, seeking wealth and excitement before settling down in Shényu.  Very,
  very few Shén stay longer than two or three years outside of their beloved hot lands, and there is
  a distinct antipathy to the idea of bringing out one’s mate (and an egg-fertiliser) and setting up a
  colony in some human area.  Only rarely, thus, are Shén females seen in human cities, and egg-
  fertilisers are even more rare.  Shén missions and permanent trading enclaves in such cities as
  Jakálla, Khéiris, Tsámra, etc. may sometimes include females and children, but there is no
  feeling that this should become permanent, and after a tour of duty the Shén emissaries are
  rotated home.
  Humans should also note that it is not possible to employ Shén of one egg-group to serve in a
  legion with Shén from some other egg-group.  This produces instant hostility, which may result
  in violence.  Such Tsolyáni mercenary Shén legions as The Legion of the Splendour of Shényu,
  the Legion of Gr-gá the Egg-Layer, the Legion of the City of Chrí, and the Horde of H´rk-ss the
  Eater of Eggs, are all composed of troops from the same or friendly egg-groups.  On the other
  hand, the Mu’ugalavyáni employ Shén from some of the smaller states: e.g., Legion XI of the
  First Palace, “Pride of Xáx”, Legion XIII of the Third Palace, “Egg-Destroyers”, Legion IX of the
  Third Palace, “Iridescent Egg”, etc.  Shén egg-group loyalties must thus be strictly observed even
  abroad.
  To the Shén, men are the “Tsí” (a small monkey-like creature dimly remembered from their
  own native world); men move about too much, talk too much, and are too flighty.  Men find most
  Shén reserved, rather cold and calculating, given to sudden and unintelligible violence, and
  
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  without any sense of humour.  The Shén are infallibly honourable, within their own cultural
  limitations, and take no part in the calculated cruelties and sadism of human culture.  They thus
  find men fickle and dishonest, hypocritical and vicious, while men find them stiff, overly
  righteous about their cultural ideals, and without any understanding of conflicting points of view.
  In spite of these gaps in understanding, however, the two races have learned to live together,
  sometimes even in relative harmony.  There have even been joint human-Shén expeditions; e.g.,
  the Livyáni-Shén attempt in 1,802 A.S. to drive the Hlüss off of Kushi’íl Island (hex 0428, etc.).
  There are Shén officers in human armies, and human captains of Shén ships (although no human
  has served in the Shén military, probably because of the egg-group social aspects of the Shén
  military structure).  Shén and human merchants have often banded together to operate trading
  firms, and Shén travelers have even reached the northern cities of Yán Kór, enduring the cold and
  alien surroundings of those far-off regions.
  As for humans visiting Shényu, it may be interesting to note the description provided by
  Hirikása hiTu’únmra, a Tsolyáni officer who was sent to negotiate for gold in 2,342 A.S.:
  “On the next day we passed through the Straits of Vá-Mélek, with the low jungles of Shényu
  to starboard and the rotting swamps of Mélek-Táru Isle to port.  All of this coastline is like that
  near Penóm: an endless wall of green jungle which overhangs the sea all along.  The water flows
  in and out through the tangled roots of this swampy morass, and over all there is the hum of the
  biting flies.  Not a sign of Shén habitation is to be seen, not a hint that behind this hedge of
  jungle there lies a mighty empire.  My companion, the noble Sh´r-Mgá, sat stolidly in the bows,
  awaiting a sight of his homeland, which he had not seen for these three years.
  “We spent the night tied to the roots of a rotting Sáyu tree, fearing the sandbanks and shoals
  that predominate in this passage.  More, Sh´r-Mgá warned us of the small pirate craft which dart
  forth from some tiny inlet and raid passing ships which exhibit few signs of military power.
  Although our mission had a good twenty troopers aboard, we had no stomach to face an assault
  by half a hundred hissing Shén, and we lay silent and dark the night long.
  “On the morning of the next day we rounded Chá-Kág head [hex 0422], and before us there
  opened out a pretty bay of considerable breadth.  Into this we sighted the city of Ssoruá.  This lay
  dead ahead of us, at the mouth of the K´rr-grü River, and at first glance it seemed naught but a
  solid low wall of black stone, from which wharves and berthings of all ships extended out into
  the bay like tongues of stone.  When we had tacked and come about before the city, we saw that
  this was a mighty harbour, full of great black Shén galleys, sailed warships, and craft from half a
  hundred ports.  The city was only partly visible behind a long seawall of cut blocks of black
  stone, a tower here and a taller building there.  Two Shén pilots came aboard, then and saw us
  into a berth beside a trading vessel with the red banner of Mu’ugalavyá on the port side and a
  Shén warship of black and crimson on our starboard.  None came out to us, and as evening was
  drawing on, we took our meal as was our wont from our own provisions.  Sh´r-Mgá took one of
  our dinghies and the two pilots and rowed off to visit his people, vowing to return for us at
  dawnlight the next day.
  “True to his word, Sh´r-Mgá appeared the next morning, accompanied by four great Shén
  with many colours on their crests and all encased in copper armour.  These, he told us, were the
  
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  representatives of the council of Ssoruá, and they were empowered to escort us to our quarters in
  the foreigners section of the city.  We were rowed ashore in some style by eight great Shén, and
  when we disembarked upon the quay we were received by another of these creatures who wore a
  cloak of green feathers all sewn upon silk [an imitation of human official dress; Translator].  We
  passed along the wharves and under a lowering tower which was well guarded by a company or
  two of Shén in copper armour.  I could see on the battlements an array of stone-throwers and
  great ballistæ which covered the whole harbour.  I also noted as we passed through the gateway
  that the floor was of timber and could be removed and thrown down in case of assault, leaving
  the enemy to face a deep pit, which, as I could hear, was open to the tides of the sea underneath.
  “Within the gate there was another enclosure of stone, pierced by several of the pentagonal
  doors favoured by these beings.  Here we were halted while the Shén hissed and crackled in their
  own tongue, looking over our documents and inspecting the samples which we had brought.  At
  length one of them who spoke passable Tsolyáni came forth and said that we were to be housed
  in the Foreigners Quarter and that accommodations were being made ready for us.  We sat
  beneath an awning for upward of a Kirén [about half an hour; Translator], sweating and dripping
  in the abominable heat, and then a much more lordly-looking Shén appeared, all attired in
  harnesses of copper and gems.  This we were told, was one Tá-H´rg, an official greeter from the
  Egg-Group of the Great Nest, the chief faction [not really—just the most senior egg-group;
  Translator] of this place.
  “This Shén took us in tow, and we were led through the city like a pack of pet Rényu, all eyes
  upon us.  The Shén build few tall buildings, preferring long, low stone porticoes and blank walls,
  pierced only by an occasional gate.  Everything here is curved, few walls are straight.  The
  copings of the roofs are rounded, and the few windows we could see over the walls on every side
  also are of oval shape.  Somehow these curvings seem wrong to a human eye, and all of us felt ill
  at ease.
  “Humans in Shényu are almost entirely restricted to the foreigner’s quarter.  When we
  entered this, we all seemed to feel a sense of relief, and we caught ourselves glancing at one
  another almost like green troops who have emerged unscathed from a battle.  Here there were
  buildings with square corners and of a form which was familiar.  The Tsolyáni merchants of the
  White Crystal Clan have a large compound here, and to this we were led.  Here we were
  welcomed with wine and water to bathe and food of reasonable quality—much welcomed by all
  of us after our long sojourn on our vessel.  Rayásu hiTukún, the merchant chief of this clan here,
  provided us with all of our needs and told us what we might expect from the Shén.  ‘Do not,’ he
  said, ‘hope for instant agreements and contracts.  The Shén take their time, and their council will
  chew it all over a hundred times before making up their minds.  You’ll be questioned and
  interviewed and talked at until you are ready to throw it all over and go home—and that’s when
  they will make you the lowest offer you ever heard of!  You must be patient and cool about it all.
  The Shén admire that, and eventually they will come about.’
  “This Rayásu had lived in Shényu for some ten years, off and on, making voyages home
  whenever the heat and the local diseases got too much for him.  He further offered us pointers on
  behavior, saying, ‘The Shén will invite you to feast, and go you must.  But don’t eat their
  accursed Ch´r melon, for it brings about a flux in the bowels the like of which you will never
  
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  endure again.  If they give you meat, look it over well, for they eat the infants of their own
  species which they have no love for—the meat will be a bit greenish and of a dark hue.  This they
  may find delectable, but humans sicken on the stuff.  Instead, you must eat only the blue fruits
  that they call G’ár, and the long yellow pulpy things which are the peeled stalks of the Mmí-gr
  plant.  If the Shén are ill-disposed towards you, they may offer you the flesh of a human slave—
  although they have little sense of humour, as befits a man, they can be sardonic and cleverly
  insulting at times.  Mostly, however, you will find the Shén solicitous hosts, aware of the
  differences between your diet and theirs, and you may thus expect courteous treatment.  Indeed,
  they may provide you each with human women for the night; these are slaves upon whom they
  wish you to beget further children so that they need not purchase further wretches from our lands.
  You may go in to these women or not, as you choose; the Shén are indifferent to our couplings.
  Of one matter I must warn you; make no attempt to wander about in the city or the countryside
  unless taken there by a Shén guide.  We humans are not permitted outside of certain clearly
  understood areas in this nation.  If your business takes you outside of this city, you must obtain
  permission and a Shén guide in order to travel, and should you journey to one of the northern
  Shén states, you must be guided to the border and arrange with the Shén of that place to take you
  into their territory, for no Shén of Shényu can cross the borders of Qonú, Xáx, Gái, or Shrükhe’él
  and live.  Rá, I have heard, is somewhat neutral, —Oh, of course, there are renegades who leave
  Shényu and join the northern states [a reference to the egg-group membership mentioned above,
  of which Rayásu may have been ignorant; Translator], but travel between these lands does not
  occur, and trade consists of simple barter—you pile your goods on the border, and then we come
  and pile ours; then we take what is agreed upon from a distance.’
  “Rayásu then went on to narrate several further instances of Shén behavior and to describe
  the plight of human travelers who had fallen afoul of their many customs and laws.  As it was
  late, I bid my comrades good health and went to bed.
  “At dawn I was awakened by a servant who brought a copper plaque for the Shén council.  I
  dressed in what finery I could muster, took my comrades with me, and ventured out of the
  foreigners quarter in the company of four ceremonious Shén soldiers attired in copper harnesses
  and helmets.  Once again we traversed that curious city.  After some time I inquired of our
  escourt if any spoke our tongue.  One did, and I questioned him as we walked.  ‘Why,’ I asked,
  ‘are there no market places in this city?’  The Shén pointed from house to house and replied,
  ‘Each great house you see is a nesting place; these belong to one or another egg-group, and
  within an egg-group all is free.  We use little money here for exchange, since we know what is to
  be taken and what is to be given.  If you were to give me your Tsolyáni sword, any egg-brother of
  mine could demand it of me, and I would give it.  In turn, I might demand some thing of his.
  Only in limited matters, thus, do we need coins—mostly in matters dealing with foreign trade.
  These we can mint aplenty, for we possess much gold.’  I knew from this that he was aware of
  the substance of my mission.
  “We arrived at a mighty hall of finely cut basalt blocks.  The Shén decorate very little with
  carvings and paintings, as we are wont to do, and their architecture is thus of a serious and rather
  ominous mien.  After passing through several courts, we were shown into a room furnished upon
  one side with low daises, such as we humans enjoy, and upon the other with three-legged stools
  of copper.  Seated upon these were seven old Shén.  Never before had I seen an aged Shén, and I
  
  9
  was taken aback to see that this race indeed ages much like our own: the crests of these Shén
  were highly lacquered, but yet they drooped and seemed less stiff and springy; the patches of grey
  around their eyes had widened and become almost a sickly white; their limbs had become thin,
  and their musculature was plain in front, where their bodies are softest.  One stepped forward to
  greet us, whom I took to be their ruler [actually the senior-most member of the predominant egg-
  group of the city; Translator].  This being spoke to us in Shén , which is a language of hisses and
  growls and gargles to human ears.  Another, younger Shén stood by to translate.  We were
  welcomed to Shényu and provided with a gift of a golden armlet each.  After this ceremonious
  greeting, our host inquired our business, and without further delay I expounded our mission to
  him.  [The details of this need not be given here; Translator].  At length we were served basins of
  cold water, a mercy in this hot climate, and then wine, which I think was Livyáni in origin.  As
  we stood to leave, I was given a message by one of the guards that Sh´r-Mgá awaited us outside
  and would conduct us to his house for midday food.
  “I had known Sh´r-Mgá for two years in Tsolyánu, had served with him in the Imperial
  Army, and had been as close to him as one brother can be to another.  Yet I felt him an alien
  when we stepped out into the steaming sunlight and saw him standing there, all proud and
  powerful in a new harness of copper all set with garnets and bits of opal.  At his side he wore an
  axe-sword of steel, and upon his head a flared helmet of copper burnished so bright that it hurt
  the eye.  With him were several of his family [egg-group; Translator], and these conducted us
  most ceremoniously through further streets of enigmatic nature, past two great central rounded
  buildings which Sh´r-Mgá said were temples to the gods of this race, and at last to an unmarked
  gateway in one of the interminable winding walls.
  “Within at least it was cool.  The outer hall lay in semi-darkness, lit only by four tiny
  clerestory windows high above.  Sh´r-Mgá passed through this into a courtyard where there was a
  well and a pile of produce, apparently newly unloaded and ready to be stored within.  Then we
  were ushered into an inner chamber where several more young Shén sat upon copper stools.
  Knowing our preference, Sh´r-Mgá had laid out mats upon the floor and a white cloth in the
  centre of the room.  Food of our usual human type was laid out there: a central dish of spicy stew,
  loaves of Dná bread, fruits, ewers of water and of wine, ho’ó [a Livyáni grain dish rather similar
  to rice], and other things.  In front of the Shén were platters of greenish cakes [the Ch´r-melon
  product mentioned above; Translator], long skewers of darkish meat (about which we made no
  inquiry), and a variety of fruits of every hue.  As we sat to eat, a pack of young Shén ran into the
  room, snapping, growling, and making rough play with one another.  These Sh´r-Mgá said were
  his children, sired before he had left for Tsolyánu and now grown almost to full adulthood.
  Unlike us, the Shén matures within five years and takes his full place in society in about seven.
  Sh´r-Mgá also brought forward a Shén of smaller stature, whom he introduced as his ‘wife’,
  although the term does not exactly apply.  She quickly disappeared again.  The females have
  quarters deep within the nest-group warren, and the egg-laying rooms are said to be far
  underground.  We were not invited to see those areas, nor had we any desire to do so.  The acrid,
  pungent odour of Shén is strong enough in a Legion barracks at home; here it was overpowering.
  We were also introduced to several individuals whom Sh´r-Mgá said were the egg-fertilisers of
  his group—more complex relationships than we could comprehend in one sitting!  Almost
  apologetically, Sh´r-Mgá stated that it was their custom to entertain guests with singing and
  
  10
  music; yet he felt that we might not enjoy their music and could not comprehend their singing.
  We urged him not to feel disturbed and took our leave.
  “When we were once more in the familiar rooms of the foreigners quarter, Rayásu came to
  inquire of our adventures.  When I had related all to him, he exclaimed, ‘You are fortunate!  This
  Sh´r-Mgá is a member of the egg-group to which the seniormost council members also belong.
  Your business will prosper, and you may only have to spend a few weeks in this accursed heat!’
  ‘Good host,’ I asked, ‘if the race of Shén is as organised as they appear, and if they are as
  powerful as I know them to be, then tell me why they do not form a mighty army and venture
  forth to take away the lands of men?  Do they not covet, as we do?  Their troops are brave in
  battle and as clever as we.  Today I have seen that they dwell in an organised society and can
  surely muster all that is needed for military adventures.’  Rayásu replied, ‘My lord, this is not
  entirely clear even to me, who have dwelt in Shényu now on and off for many years.  It has to do
  with their lineages, I think: members of one egg-group cooperate only ill with those of others.
  Even when there is friendship between two of these great families, there is not the will to go forth
  upon a dangerous enterprise together.  Indeed, Shényu could exterminate all of the little Shén
  states to the north, but as you see, they do not.  They are a conservative race, one much given to
  its homeland and its ancient places.  When young, they do set out upon adventures, but when
  they attain an age they return here to their blessed heat.  Although they do produce individuals
  who desire foreign adventure, most Shén will remain within their families and homes after
  maturity.  Some time back I am minded of one R´r-Ssá, a mighty Shén who had seen service in
  the armies of Tsolyánu.  Upon his return here he set about building up a legion of his fellows to
  return to Tsolyánu and establish a new mercenary company there—perhaps to colonise, who
  knows?  From his own egg-group he got some cooperation—thirty to fifty individuals who
  agreed to go with him.  From his related lineages he got less, and from more distant egg-groups
  he got still less, until it became clear to him that no Shén-organised Company of Foreign Persons
  (as the devilish Yán Koryáni have named one of their legions) could go forth from here.
  Dissatisfied, he set sail for Tsolyánu, and I have heard nothing of him since.’  I replied, ‘I believe
  he now serves in the Legion called Splendour of Shényu; I met him a year back when I was in
  Béy Sü.  He seemed then a restless, frustrated person.’  Thus we continued our discussion until
  the servants called us to the evening meal.”
  Hirikása’s further adventures in Shényu are of interest, but space prevents their narration
  here.  It may be noted that he eventually got his trade treaty and returned to Tsolyánu laden with
  gold and trade goods.  At this writing he serves as a High Legate in the Palace of Foreign Lands
  in Jakálla, where visitors may speak with him further of these matters.
  Note: The Macintosh does not properly place accents over the letter “r”, and the result (´r)
  can be mistaken for a glottal stop-r (‘r).  Examine the accent carefully in these instances if you
  want exact spelling for the Shén words.  The ASCII document, which contains the accenting
  conventions in codes, makes these clearer.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Empire of the Petal Throne (osr)/MAR Barker & Chirine Ba Kal Commentary/EotPT - Splendour of Shenyu.pdf