Movies
Concept Art
Screenshots

Play Now
Getting Started
Player Guide
Official Strategy Guide
Ships

Maps
Demo
Goodies

Homeworld
Cataclysm
Kiith Background

Fan Sites
Message Boards
Developer's Lounge

Support
Tech FAQ
Video Card Issues

The History of Kiith Somtaaw

Of the earliest days of Kiith Somtaaw little is known, although this ancient family could once trace its unbroken lineage back over 1,000 years on Kharak. The Somtaaw made their ancestral homes in the peaks and valleys of the Kohntala Mountain Range, one of the more dramatic geographic features in Kharak's northern hemisphere. In the first and second centuries, Somtaaw's holdings in the Khontala were rich and varied, running the gamut from farms, dams and mills to fortresses and towns, including the walled cities of Hameln and Gydeo.

The kiith was more than self-sufficient; the terraced farms of the lowlands and the seasonal grazing pastures of the highlands produced a great surplus of food and hides, and the Somtaaw prospered in trade.

Starting in the year 178, Kharakian artists from various disciplines were gathered under the patronage of Teigor Somtaaw, one of the most enlightened Kiith'sid of his time. Employing hundreds of skilled masons, painters, architects and weavers, Kiith Somtaaw began building a series of temples on the slopes of the mountain called Lungma Jiin, "The Roof of the World." There were 33 temples in all, leading from the sands of the Kasaar to the very summit of what was, at that time, the world's highest known mountain.

Collectively, the 33 temples of the Somtaaw were known as "The Shimmering Path." For nearly 400 years, it was considered the height of spiritual devotion for a religiously inclined Kharakian to walk the Shimmering Path; most Kharakians attempted the trip at least once a lifetime. Beginning at the first temple, the Oracle of Tala, the pilgrim traveled an arduous road on his or her own feet, and the distance he or she went was considered a watermark for the strength of the faith that flowed within.

The vast majority of Kharakians finished the pilgrimage at the Seventh Temple, the famous "Dome of Heaven," which lay within the city walls of Gydeo. For those stubborn few who felt the need to move closer to God, however, there were 26 more temples along the Shimmering Path, each more inaccessible than the last. The highest of these was Temple of the Mysteries, which very few travelers could reach; the upper slopes of Lungma Jiin were a blasted ladder of crumbling granite and thin ice, and constantly buffeted by freezing gale-force winds. According to legend, the most sacred relics of the Somtaaw were kept on the altar of this temple, and any pilgrim who made the journey on foot was permitted to touch them: the famed Star-Metal Scrolls, which were alleged to have been written by the hand of Jakuul Himself, in a language which no living man could read.

Up until the discovery of Khar-Toba, most serious Kharakian scholars had assumed that the Somtaaw's Star Metal Scrolls were just a myth, very much like their Chalice of Life or any other mystical refuse from Kharakian legend. Before the discovery of the Guidestone, the Star-Metal Scrolls were put into the same category as Soban's sword Caaliburnos, or the Burning Spear of Gaalsi. However, given the discovery of the Guidestone, a great deal of new interest was generated in the Somtaaw holy relics. Many prominent anthrocists and historians, including the famous Mevath Sagald, joined forces and put a motion before the Great Daiamid at Tiir, requesting that the Somtaaw's upper temples, which had been closed to outsiders for over 300 years, be re-opened for the benefit of modern-day scholars.

Alas, nothing came of this motion before the Burning of Kharak. Representatives from Kiith Somtaaw dragged their heels in the Daiamid assembly, and even went so far as to suggest that archaeologists should approach the Temple of Mysteries on foot, dressed in traditional pilgrim's clothes! Sagald and her coalition declared this notion "ridiculous," and openly referred to the Somtaaw as "backward barbarians." Many Sagald supporters pointed out that the Daiamid was founded to hear sound logical debates, not listen to superstitious nonsense! Arguments on both sides were still being heard when the Mothership was launched.

In any case, we will never know what we might have learned from the Somtaaw Scrolls; they were lost with the rest of Kharak, and among the Somtaaw survivors who awoke on Hiigara 15 years ago, there were none who could claim to have seen them. Since the later days of the Heresy Wars, Kiith Somtaaw had largely abandoned their role as a religious kiith; by the time of the Exodus, the vast majority of Somtaaw's kiithid were engaged in another profession, the profession by which they are still best known today: mining.

The transformation of Kiith Somtaaw from a primary religious kiith to a hard-working miner's kiith was a slow and painful one, and involved many generations of privation and suffering. The centuries of the Heresy Wars were hard times for the Somtaaw; their Khontala mountains provided a natural barrier between the forces of Gaalsi and Siid, and both sides struggled urgently to subdue or seduce the Somtaaw for nearly two hundred years. The flow of pilgrims to Somtaaw temples slowed disastrously in a world at war, and soon there was not enough money flowing into the kiith's coffers to maintain those temples in their intended role, as way stations along the Shimmering Path.

Eventually, in the year 675, all 33 of the Somtaaw temples were closed to outsiders, except for the Oracle of Tala and the Dome of Heaven.

By virtue of their own sheer stubbornness, and the natural protection provided by the narrow passes and forbidding peaks of their homeland, the Somtaaw were able to hold off all invaders during the worst of the Siidim and Gaalsien conflict. More difficult to resist, however, was the seduction of becoming a vassal clan, especially when the Somtaaw holdings, although easy to defend, were also easy to cut off from trade routes. Even a small garrison could hold the Kasaar like a cork in a bottle, and keep the Somtaaw trapped in their mountain fortresses; invaders couldn't enter, but neither could caravans and other visitors. Contact with the outside was sporadic throughout the seventh and eighth centuries…the Somtaaw held no goods sufficiently inviting to keep the Kasaar Road open.

This changed in the year 789, when Kuura Somtaaw, then kiith'sa of the 30,000 souls who still made their homes in the Khontala, awoke one night from a strange dream. Kuura had seen the image of the god Sajuuk, driving a great red sword into the earth in the Khontala mountains, in a seldom-visited region far from the main roads. Driven by the urgency of her vision, she ordered several smaller families to begin digging in the Red Creek Valley. Because their kiith'sa was descended from the temple women of Tala, the Somtaaw reluctantly obeyed, and several Somtaaw kiithid moved to the area and began the excavation, although no one was quite certain what they were looking for.

What the Somtaaw found at Red Creek was a deposit of the richest iron ore ever seen on Kharak, which lay just six feet below the soft sediments of the valley floor. Here was enough metal to be hammered into a hundred thousand swords, and Kiith Somtaaw was not slow to announce their find to the rest of the world. Although both Siid and Gaalsi offered ruinous sums to buy the mine, or the ore that it produced, Kuura Somtaaw refused to trade with either side. In her own words, "Why should I sell these madmen a knife to cut my throat with?"

Instead, the Somtaaw built their own smelters and began mixing the iron with carbon, producing a very high-grade steel…a commodity far more precious than gold, especially during those dangerous times. The arrangement that eventually sustained Kuura Somtaaw's kiith was made with the Sobani, who immediately saw the use for Somtaaw steel and the superior weapons that could be forged from it. In exchange for a yearly tribute from the smelters at Hameln, the Soban signed an unheard-of contract; the mercenary kiith agreed to keep the Kasaar open and clear of marauders for a period of no less than one hundred years!

With the Naabal intervention, the Somtaaw expanded their operations, throwing themselves into their new profession with the kiith's customary enthusiasm. Although they never developed any significant technological advances on their own, they were always quick to buy, copy or outright steal any new tool or technique, once another kiith had put it into operation. Thus the Somtaaw profited greatly from the introduction of steam-powered drills, narrow-gauge railroads and chemical explosives. By the time of the Exodus, Kiith Somtaaw was nearly 500,000 strong, and had even built new holdings alongside great industrial kiithid like Naabal and LiirHra, to the extent of opening off-planet mines in the Kharakian asteroid belt.

The return to Hiigara was not as joyous for Somtaaw as for many of our people. Although a few of their number were awake during the journey from Kharak, employed in the care and maintenance of resource collectors, the vast majority of Somtaaw survivors were Sleepers during the journey. When they were awakened on Hiigara, many were horrified to hear that the families and loved ones they left on Kharak were gone, and that there was no hope of return. Of a kiith that had once been so strong, very few survivors remained; only 15,000 Somtaaw awakened on Kharak, less than a twentieth of their number, and the vast majority of these were men.

Somtaaw's fortunes were further complicated by a political conflict with Kiith Naabal, which made a bid seven years after landfall to absorb the Somtaaw survivors as a vassal clan. It was argued in the New Daiamid that Somtaaw's kiith had valuable skills, which could be of the greatest possible use to Hiigara if channeled by Naabal's industrial planning committees. According to the Naabal, it was in the best interests of all Hiigarans if Somtaaw joined with Kiith Naabal, and provided their mining expertise to the Naabal-owned colonies throughout the Hiigaran buffer zone. Many such mergers had taken place in the past decade, with benefits for all concerned.

Somtaaw flatly refused this proposition, and the debate between Somtaaw and Naabal supporters in the New Daiamid has already been cited by many as a history-making event. According to the Somtaaw survivors, larger and more powerful kiithid like Naabal were deliberately campaigning to deprive the weakened Sleeper clans of their sovereign rights, which included the staking of land claims on Hiigara, a voice in the New Daiamid and access to the ship-building capabilities of the Mothership Station. Given that the Mothership's building array had already provided whole fleets to the larger kiithid, and no less than fifteen carrier groups each to Naabal, Soban, Kaalel and Manaan, Kiith Somtaaw argued that they also had the right to seek their fortune among the stars. They proposed to build themselves a tonnage of starships, which was proportional to their kiith numbers.

During the Somtaaw/Naabal debate, dispossessed members of many Kharak's devastated kiithid joined the Somtaaw as family members, swelling their ranks from 15,000 to nearly 25,000 in a few short months. The matter was debated for months in the Daiamid, with the larger kiithid of the inner council arguing bitterly. Kiith Soban honored its ancient ties to Somtaaw and opposed Naabal's power-hungry crusade, and so did the Paktu, a kiith inclined to support Somtaaw both out of historical sympathy with the underdog and respect for the rising confederation of Somtaaw with other weakened kiithid. On the opposite side of the table, Kiith LiirHra supported Naabal vigorously, citing the benefits of their own union with the survivors of the Hraal.

The matter was eventually decided in favor of Somtaaw by a very narrow margin in the Daiamid and only after the Somtaaw managed to convince the disenfranchised kiith to threaten a general strike over the issue. While many of the established Kiith accused Somtaaw of further undermining the ancient social systems for their own benefit, the result was Somtaaw was granted access to the Mothership Station for a period of six months. Mothership access for other lesser kiithid soon followed. In their time, the Somtaaw built two enormous mining ships, the Kuun-Lan and the Fal-Corum, which were both launched, fully manned, within 45 days. In the final days of their control over the Mothership's PDA, Kiith Somtaaw triumphantly built one final ship, the Clee San, a top-of-the-line deep space research frigate. Students of history will note that the names of all three vessels derive from the names of temples along the old Shimmering Path: Kuun-Lan, "Purifying Flame"; Fal-Corum, "Silent Wayfarer"; and Clee San, "Truth Seeker"…

Since then the Somtaaw have explored many neighboring systems to Hiigara. Although their numbers are small, they've set up several mining stations to collect rare elements, and they sell the fruits of their labors to all clients allowed by the current Hiigaran trade regulations. Like all our kiithid, their ships are bound to respond to any call to arms when Hiigaran space is violated. But beyond the Somtaaw's duty to Hiigara, they live free and bend knee to none but their own kiith'sa—maintaining a centuries-long tradition.

The Star Metal Scrolls

Thanks to the Taiidani, we will never know what we might have learned from Somtaaw's Star-Metal Scrolls; the relics were lost in the Burning of Kharak. However, Kiith Somtaaw always guarded the sanctity of their holy objects quite jealously, and many historians believe that they would have refused to obey the Daiamid, even if the assembly had finally commanded them to give up the scrolls to Sagald and her coalition. It would not have been the first time that strangers had demanded the surrender of the Somtaaw's sacred treasure!

At the University of Tiir, tenured professor Polton Tesh returned to the pages of the Lexii Siidim Frei, the Book of the Siidim War, and found a telling reference to the famed Somtaaw stubbornness from the year 535. Jubei Siid lost an army of over 2,000 swords that year in his attempts to subdue the Somtaaw. According to the ancient text:

"Jubei would have been wiser to thrust his arm into the fire than to send his men into the teeth of the Somtaaw, who had lived in those mountains since the dawn of time. But the fabled wealth of the Somtaaw high temples spurred his greed, just as their refusal to pay him tribute stung his arrogance. This foolish man vowed that he would drink wine from the Chalice of Life and have the Star-Metal Scrolls for his bedroom table. Alas, vanity! The Somtaaw gave him nothing to drink but his own kiith blood, and in the end their kiith'sa, Belit Somtaaw, sent him his own brother's head as a gift. She advised him to 'Hang this prize upon your wall, instead of our Scrolls. Study the face of Kon Siid with care, and it will make you wise…'"

The Oracle of Tala

The Oracle of Tala was also much visited in ancient times, not only for the sculptures on the temple grounds, but for the mysterious rites practiced by its temple women. Here the Somtaaw dedicated prayers and ceremonies not to the Celestial Father and Son, but to Kharak Herself. The World Goddess is depicted in most of the temple's tapestries as a graceful Lady, dressed desert-fashion in flowing robes. She wears a veil to cover Her face, like a Manaani traveler. Sometimes the hand She raises to hold that veil in place is stripped to the bone; the Veiled Lady is associated with the mysteries of death, and Her veil is a metaphor for all that we do not know and cannot understand.

The temple women of Tala were said to have the gift of prophecy, and they were often consulted before any serious undertaking was planned; they also were visited by those who had lost loved ones in the desert, and asked to perform funeral rites for those whose bodies would never be found. Some of the prophecies and pronouncements of the Somtaaw's Oracle have become quite famous. For example, legend has it that the Tala-Sa turned away pilgrims who came in 491 to make an offering for the souls of the Paktu, when it was believed that the kiithid of the First Migration had been lost in the sands of the Great Banded. "Come again and offer for the soul of Majiir Paktu in another season," she told them, speaking on behalf of the Goddess. "He has not yet come to me."

However, the "prophecies" of the Somtaaw were notorious for their slippery wording, which often left the message of the Goddess open to wildly different interpretations. For example, when Liam Gaalsi visited the Oracle in 697 to ask whether his military expedition to the Southern hemisphere would be successful, he didn't phrase his question with sufficient care. He asked the Oracle whether Kiithid Chel'ok, Derria and Gund would be destroyed.

"Before the turn of the next triad, Chel'ok, Derria and Gund will be no more," she responded.

He was pleased by this answer, and asked where his vassals would fall. Her answer was even more cryptic: "There will be blood on the shores of the gray Majiirian." Naturally, Liam went away from his audience with the Oracle well satisfied. Unfortunately, the fulfillment of the Oracle's prophecy was not much to his liking; the smaller kiithid did vanish, but they were swallowed by Kiith Paktu, not Kiith Gaalsi—and the combined forces of the Paktu dealt Liam Gaalsi a crushing defeat the following year. As fate would have it, the decisive battle took place on the shores of the Majiirian, and the shore was bloody indeed…but it was largely Gaalsi blood that stained the sand.

The Dome of Heaven

Video and photographic records of this temple still exist, for those interested in the devotional art of Kharak—but even the most devout atheist may be moved by the beauty of these images. At the Dome of Heaven, we see a new Sajuuk. No longer the stern and angry tyrant of Gaalsien depictions, the Father smiles down on his children from the mosaics of the Dome, wearing a crown of stars; He stands at the summit of the Shimmering Path, beckoning the faithful to join Him in the sky. Here the Son, Jakuul, is not the sword-bearing avenger of the Ferril, but the Vida-Sa, the Lord of all Life; like a good shepherd He leads His people into green pastures, and stands in the midst of luxuriant forests.

On the temple grounds of the Dome, Somtaaw's temple men kept a living testament to their faith in Jakuul; a series of Contemplation Gardens were open to the public. Filled with trees, fruit and flowers that could be found nowhere else on Kharak, the Contemplation Gardens were an extremely popular attraction, and Kharakians from all walks of life made the journey to see them, especially during the spring blooming. Some pilgrims returned year after year at the same time; the city of Gydeo was so flooded by their numbers that an impromptu Fair grew up around the occasion. Traders and Manaani thronged the streets and squares alongside the pilgrims, vying for the coins of the virtuous.

The History of Kiith Somtaaw

Of the earliest days of Kiith Somtaaw little is known, although this ancient family could once trace its unbroken lineage back over 1,000 years on Kharak. The Somtaaw made their ancestral homes in the peaks and valleys of the Kohntala Mountain Range, one of the more dramatic geographic features in Kharak's northern hemisphere. In the first and second centuries, Somtaaw's holdings in the Khontala were rich and varied, running the gamut from farms, dams and mills to fortresses and towns, including the walled cities of Hameln and Gydeo.

The kiith was more than self-sufficient; the terraced farms of the lowlands and the seasonal grazing pastures of the highlands produced a great surplus of food and hides, and the Somtaaw prospered in trade.

Starting in the year 178, Kharakian artists from various disciplines were gathered under the patronage of Teigor Somtaaw, one of the most enlightened Kiith'sid of his time. Employing hundreds of skilled masons, painters, architects and weavers, Kiith Somtaaw began building a series of temples on the slopes of the mountain called Lungma Jiin, "The Roof of the World." There were 33 temples in all, leading from the sands of the Kasaar to the very summit of what was, at that time, the world's highest known mountain.

Collectively, the 33 temples of the Somtaaw were known as "The Shimmering Path." For nearly 400 years, it was considered the height of spiritual devotion for a religiously inclined Kharakian to walk the Shimmering Path; most Kharakians attempted the trip at least once a lifetime. Beginning at the first temple, the Oracle of Tala, the pilgrim traveled an arduous road on his or her own feet, and the distance he or she went was considered a watermark for the strength of the faith that flowed within.

The vast majority of Kharakians finished the pilgrimage at the Seventh Temple, the famous "Dome of Heaven," which lay within the city walls of Gydeo. For those stubborn few who felt the need to move closer to God, however, there were 26 more temples along the Shimmering Path, each more inaccessible than the last. The highest of these was Temple of the Mysteries, which very few travelers could reach; the upper slopes of Lungma Jiin were a blasted ladder of crumbling granite and thin ice, and constantly buffeted by freezing gale-force winds. According to legend, the most sacred relics of the Somtaaw were kept on the altar of this temple, and any pilgrim who made the journey on foot was permitted to touch them: the famed Star-Metal Scrolls, which were alleged to have been written by the hand of Jakuul Himself, in a language which no living man could read.

Up until the discovery of Khar-Toba, most serious Kharakian scholars had assumed that the Somtaaw's Star Metal Scrolls were just a myth, very much like their Chalice of Life or any other mystical refuse from Kharakian legend. Before the discovery of the Guidestone, the Star-Metal Scrolls were put into the same category as Soban's sword Caaliburnos, or the Burning Spear of Gaalsi. However, given the discovery of the Guidestone, a great deal of new interest was generated in the Somtaaw holy relics. Many prominent anthrocists and historians, including the famous Mevath Sagald, joined forces and put a motion before the Great Daiamid at Tiir, requesting that the Somtaaw's upper temples, which had been closed to outsiders for over 300 years, be re-opened for the benefit of modern-day scholars.

Alas, nothing came of this motion before the Burning of Kharak. Representatives from Kiith Somtaaw dragged their heels in the Daiamid assembly, and even went so far as to suggest that archaeologists should approach the Temple of Mysteries on foot, dressed in traditional pilgrim's clothes! Sagald and her coalition declared this notion "ridiculous," and openly referred to the Somtaaw as "backward barbarians." Many Sagald supporters pointed out that the Daiamid was founded to hear sound logical debates, not listen to superstitious nonsense! Arguments on both sides were still being heard when the Mothership was launched.

In any case, we will never know what we might have learned from the Somtaaw Scrolls; they were lost with the rest of Kharak, and among the Somtaaw survivors who awoke on Hiigara 15 years ago, there were none who could claim to have seen them. Since the later days of the Heresy Wars, Kiith Somtaaw had largely abandoned their role as a religious kiith; by the time of the Exodus, the vast majority of Somtaaw's kiithid were engaged in another profession, the profession by which they are still best known today: mining.

The transformation of Kiith Somtaaw from a primary religious kiith to a hard-working miner's kiith was a slow and painful one, and involved many generations of privation and suffering. The centuries of the Heresy Wars were hard times for the Somtaaw; their Khontala mountains provided a natural barrier between the forces of Gaalsi and Siid, and both sides struggled urgently to subdue or seduce the Somtaaw for nearly two hundred years. The flow of pilgrims to Somtaaw temples slowed disastrously in a world at war, and soon there was not enough money flowing into the kiith's coffers to maintain those temples in their intended role, as way stations along the Shimmering Path.

Eventually, in the year 675, all 33 of the Somtaaw temples were closed to outsiders, except for the Oracle of Tala and the Dome of Heaven.

By virtue of their own sheer stubbornness, and the natural protection provided by the narrow passes and forbidding peaks of their homeland, the Somtaaw were able to hold off all invaders during the worst of the Siidim and Gaalsien conflict. More difficult to resist, however, was the seduction of becoming a vassal clan, especially when the Somtaaw holdings, although easy to defend, were also easy to cut off from trade routes. Even a small garrison could hold the Kasaar like a cork in a bottle, and keep the Somtaaw trapped in their mountain fortresses; invaders couldn't enter, but neither could caravans and other visitors. Contact with the outside was sporadic throughout the seventh and eighth centuries…the Somtaaw held no goods sufficiently inviting to keep the Kasaar Road open.

This changed in the year 789, when Kuura Somtaaw, then kiith'sa of the 30,000 souls who still made their homes in the Khontala, awoke one night from a strange dream. Kuura had seen the image of the god Sajuuk, driving a great red sword into the earth in the Khontala mountains, in a seldom-visited region far from the main roads. Driven by the urgency of her vision, she ordered several smaller families to begin digging in the Red Creek Valley. Because their kiith'sa was descended from the temple women of Tala, the Somtaaw reluctantly obeyed, and several Somtaaw kiithid moved to the area and began the excavation, although no one was quite certain what they were looking for.

What the Somtaaw found at Red Creek was a deposit of the richest iron ore ever seen on Kharak, which lay just six feet below the soft sediments of the valley floor. Here was enough metal to be hammered into a hundred thousand swords, and Kiith Somtaaw was not slow to announce their find to the rest of the world. Although both Siid and Gaalsi offered ruinous sums to buy the mine, or the ore that it produced, Kuura Somtaaw refused to trade with either side. In her own words, "Why should I sell these madmen a knife to cut my throat with?"

Instead, the Somtaaw built their own smelters and began mixing the iron with carbon, producing a very high-grade steel…a commodity far more precious than gold, especially during those dangerous times. The arrangement that eventually sustained Kuura Somtaaw's kiith was made with the Sobani, who immediately saw the use for Somtaaw steel and the superior weapons that could be forged from it. In exchange for a yearly tribute from the smelters at Hameln, the Soban signed an unheard-of contract; the mercenary kiith agreed to keep the Kasaar open and clear of marauders for a period of no less than one hundred years!

With the Naabal intervention, the Somtaaw expanded their operations, throwing themselves into their new profession with the kiith's customary enthusiasm. Although they never developed any significant technological advances on their own, they were always quick to buy, copy or outright steal any new tool or technique, once another kiith had put it into operation. Thus the Somtaaw profited greatly from the introduction of steam-powered drills, narrow-gauge railroads and chemical explosives. By the time of the Exodus, Kiith Somtaaw was nearly 500,000 strong, and had even built new holdings alongside great industrial kiithid like Naabal and LiirHra, to the extent of opening off-planet mines in the Kharakian asteroid belt.

The return to Hiigara was not as joyous for Somtaaw as for many of our people. Although a few of their number were awake during the journey from Kharak, employed in the care and maintenance of resource collectors, the vast majority of Somtaaw survivors were Sleepers during the journey. When they were awakened on Hiigara, many were horrified to hear that the families and loved ones they left on Kharak were gone, and that there was no hope of return. Of a kiith that had once been so strong, very few survivors remained; only 15,000 Somtaaw awakened on Kharak, less than a twentieth of their number, and the vast majority of these were men.

Somtaaw's fortunes were further complicated by a political conflict with Kiith Naabal, which made a bid seven years after landfall to absorb the Somtaaw survivors as a vassal clan. It was argued in the New Daiamid that Somtaaw's kiith had valuable skills, which could be of the greatest possible use to Hiigara if channeled by Naabal's industrial planning committees. According to the Naabal, it was in the best interests of all Hiigarans if Somtaaw joined with Kiith Naabal, and provided their mining expertise to the Naabal-owned colonies throughout the Hiigaran buffer zone. Many such mergers had taken place in the past decade, with benefits for all concerned.

Somtaaw flatly refused this proposition, and the debate between Somtaaw and Naabal supporters in the New Daiamid has already been cited by many as a history-making event. According to the Somtaaw survivors, larger and more powerful kiithid like Naabal were deliberately campaigning to deprive the weakened Sleeper clans of their sovereign rights, which included the staking of land claims on Hiigara, a voice in the New Daiamid and access to the ship-building capabilities of the Mothership Station. Given that the Mothership's building array had already provided whole fleets to the larger kiithid, and no less than fifteen carrier groups each to Naabal, Soban, Kaalel and Manaan, Kiith Somtaaw argued that they also had the right to seek their fortune among the stars. They proposed to build themselves a tonnage of starships, which was proportional to their kiith numbers.

During the Somtaaw/Naabal debate, dispossessed members of many Kharak's devastated kiithid joined the Somtaaw as family members, swelling their ranks from 15,000 to nearly 25,000 in a few short months. The matter was debated for months in the Daiamid, with the larger kiithid of the inner council arguing bitterly. Kiith Soban honored its ancient ties to Somtaaw and opposed Naabal's power-hungry crusade, and so did the Paktu, a kiith inclined to support Somtaaw both out of historical sympathy with the underdog and respect for the rising confederation of Somtaaw with other weakened kiithid. On the opposite side of the table, Kiith LiirHra supported Naabal vigorously, citing the benefits of their own union with the survivors of the Hraal.

The matter was eventually decided in favor of Somtaaw by a very narrow margin in the Daiamid and only after the Somtaaw managed to convince the disenfranchised kiith to threaten a general strike over the issue. While many of the established Kiith accused Somtaaw of further undermining the ancient social systems for their own benefit, the result was Somtaaw was granted access to the Mothership Station for a period of six months. Mothership access for other lesser kiithid soon followed. In their time, the Somtaaw built two enormous mining ships, the Kuun-Lan and the Fal-Corum, which were both launched, fully manned, within 45 days. In the final days of their control over the Mothership's PDA, Kiith Somtaaw triumphantly built one final ship, the Clee San, a top-of-the-line deep space research frigate. Students of history will note that the names of all three vessels derive from the names of temples along the old Shimmering Path: Kuun-Lan, "Purifying Flame"; Fal-Corum, "Silent Wayfarer"; and Clee San, "Truth Seeker"…

Since then the Somtaaw have explored many neighboring systems to Hiigara. Although their numbers are small, they've set up several mining stations to collect rare elements, and they sell the fruits of their labors to all clients allowed by the current Hiigaran trade regulations. Like all our kiithid, their ships are bound to respond to any call to arms when Hiigaran space is violated. But beyond the Somtaaw's duty to Hiigara, they live free and bend knee to none but their own kiith'sa—maintaining a centuries-long tradition.

The Star Metal Scrolls

Thanks to the Taiidani, we will never know what we might have learned from Somtaaw's Star-Metal Scrolls; the relics were lost in the Burning of Kharak. However, Kiith Somtaaw always guarded the sanctity of their holy objects quite jealously, and many historians believe that they would have refused to obey the Daiamid, even if the assembly had finally commanded them to give up the scrolls to Sagald and her coalition. It would not have been the first time that strangers had demanded the surrender of the Somtaaw's sacred treasure!

At the University of Tiir, tenured professor Polton Tesh returned to the pages of the Lexii Siidim Frei, the Book of the Siidim War, and found a telling reference to the famed Somtaaw stubbornness from the year 535. Jubei Siid lost an army of over 2,000 swords that year in his attempts to subdue the Somtaaw. According to the ancient text:

"Jubei would have been wiser to thrust his arm into the fire than to send his men into the teeth of the Somtaaw, who had lived in those mountains since the dawn of time. But the fabled wealth of the Somtaaw high temples spurred his greed, just as their refusal to pay him tribute stung his arrogance. This foolish man vowed that he would drink wine from the Chalice of Life and have the Star-Metal Scrolls for his bedroom table. Alas, vanity! The Somtaaw gave him nothing to drink but his own kiith blood, and in the end their kiith'sa, Belit Somtaaw, sent him his own brother's head as a gift. She advised him to 'Hang this prize upon your wall, instead of our Scrolls. Study the face of Kon Siid with care, and it will make you wise…'"

The Oracle of Tala

The Oracle of Tala was also much visited in ancient times, not only for the sculptures on the temple grounds, but for the mysterious rites practiced by its temple women. Here the Somtaaw dedicated prayers and ceremonies not to the Celestial Father and Son, but to Kharak Herself. The World Goddess is depicted in most of the temple's tapestries as a graceful Lady, dressed desert-fashion in flowing robes. She wears a veil to cover Her face, like a Manaani traveler. Sometimes the hand She raises to hold that veil in place is stripped to the bone; the Veiled Lady is associated with the mysteries of death, and Her veil is a metaphor for all that we do not know and cannot understand.

The temple women of Tala were said to have the gift of prophecy, and they were often consulted before any serious undertaking was planned; they also were visited by those who had lost loved ones in the desert, and asked to perform funeral rites for those whose bodies would never be found. Some of the prophecies and pronouncements of the Somtaaw's Oracle have become quite famous. For example, legend has it that the Tala-Sa turned away pilgrims who came in 491 to make an offering for the souls of the Paktu, when it was believed that the kiithid of the First Migration had been lost in the sands of the Great Banded. "Come again and offer for the soul of Majiir Paktu in another season," she told them, speaking on behalf of the Goddess. "He has not yet come to me."

However, the "prophecies" of the Somtaaw were notorious for their slippery wording, which often left the message of the Goddess open to wildly different interpretations. For example, when Liam Gaalsi visited the Oracle in 697 to ask whether his military expedition to the Southern hemisphere would be successful, he didn't phrase his question with sufficient care. He asked the Oracle whether Kiithid Chel'ok, Derria and Gund would be destroyed.

"Before the turn of the next triad, Chel'ok, Derria and Gund will be no more," she responded.

He was pleased by this answer, and asked where his vassals would fall. Her answer was even more cryptic: "There will be blood on the shores of the gray Majiirian." Naturally, Liam went away from his audience with the Oracle well satisfied. Unfortunately, the fulfillment of the Oracle's prophecy was not much to his liking; the smaller kiithid did vanish, but they were swallowed by Kiith Paktu, not Kiith Gaalsi—and the combined forces of the Paktu dealt Liam Gaalsi a crushing defeat the following year. As fate would have it, the decisive battle took place on the shores of the Majiirian, and the shore was bloody indeed…but it was largely Gaalsi blood that stained the sand.

The Dome of Heaven

Video and photographic records of this temple still exist, for those interested in the devotional art of Kharak—but even the most devout atheist may be moved by the beauty of these images. At the Dome of Heaven, we see a new Sajuuk. No longer the stern and angry tyrant of Gaalsien depictions, the Father smiles down on his children from the mosaics of the Dome, wearing a crown of stars; He stands at the summit of the Shimmering Path, beckoning the faithful to join Him in the sky. Here the Son, Jakuul, is not the sword-bearing avenger of the Ferril, but the Vida-Sa, the Lord of all Life; like a good shepherd He leads His people into green pastures, and stands in the midst of luxuriant forests.

On the temple grounds of the Dome, Somtaaw's temple men kept a living testament to their faith in Jakuul; a series of Contemplation Gardens were open to the public. Filled with trees, fruit and flowers that could be found nowhere else on Kharak, the Contemplation Gardens were an extremely popular attraction, and Kharakians from all walks of life made the journey to see them, especially during the spring blooming. Some pilgrims returned year after year at the same time; the city of Gydeo was so flooded by their numbers that an impromptu Fair grew up around the occasion. Traders and Manaani thronged the streets and squares alongside the pilgrims, vying for the coins of the virtuous.