Otu kæɲi Thylasalha

It is called the Guarded Path, or "Otu kæɲi Thylasalha". The Path that one walks and uses to guard against enemies that might cause. The Martial Art of the Nation found its beginnings supposedly thousands of years ago under the tutelage of the woman known as "High Fall", one of the three daughters of First Chieftain.

The actual Art would not fully evolve for centuries until the modern day. A mixing of early Amazon teachings and influenced by other combat forms, Otu kæɲi Thylasalha, is focused upon two key ideasl. The Defense of the user and the removal of threats to the user. Adopting similar punches and kicks used in Thai Kick Boxing, Otu kæɲi Thylasalha uses the joints as extra points of pressure to deliver harsh strong jabs to weak areas. The primary weapon of this format is the Tonfa. Usually the weapon is held at the side so that the user is free to punch at the open with quick light strikes. If necessary the bladed end of the tonfa can then be used to slash the opponent or provide a hard block to an oncoming punch or swipe.

The other aspect of the martial form us the usage of body pinning and minor locks to disable an opponent. This evolved out of Greek wrestling brought to the Nation via liason with Sparta during the era of the Delian League. For years the Amazones taught this art to their sons and daughters and it was nearly lost after the Roman invasion. In modern times, many young Amazones are taught the art as part of their heritage and as a method of self defense. Some outside the nation have learned it, but teaching Otu kæɲi Thylasalha to outsiders is considered very disrespectful if the teacher did not gain permission from their Ozikon.

Update on terminology and rules

Adjectives now in Amazo precede the modified noun. In this we can then use verbal phrases to modify a singular noun. These phrases will lack the modal clitic and instead will count as direct modifiers to the verb the precede if another noun does not complete the clause and acts as the patient of the action. This is then further stated by the verb conjugating into the middle voice.

This is not counted as a reflexive unless the noun is in the Ablative.

The new term for the Amazonian body tattoos is now "Nythones kæbæ Zentilha".

A little bit of history...

As I'm developing the history and language of the Amazons I'm having to invent other peoples for them to interact with. One of these groups is a tribe from their holy text called the Angha Vehrkanam, or in rough avestan "those of the wolf". And I mean rough, this is kind of a conlanged name so anyway.

A little bit about the tribe.

The Angha Vehrkanam were lead by a man named Black Wolf. A man of hot temper and violent nature, it was his eventual temper that leads to the death of one of the daughters of First Chieftain (the very first Amazon). However from this encounter and the eventual duel that kills the man, the Amazon tradition of what is called "The  Guarded Path" is founded. What this pretty much means is that through dueling and fighting another tribe the Ancestor Tribe of the Amazon nation founded the first principals of their people's martial art.

So as I work on this I'm having to do some serious editing to my earlier notes of Amazon as I prepare to write up a document for the main website. The main issue is the usage of a classical greek word, Kata, in the genitive. If I can get that down and then decided how the Amazons what case the Amazon word for Path is in the name for their martial art I'll be closer to finishing Part 5.

Amazonian Mastiff - An invented dog breed

A week or so ago after a long set of shifts from work I spoke to my grandmother about my book. In and out of the sleep that kept nagging at me something stuck out. My grandmother suggested that my main cast have some sort of pet, a dog perhaps. When I thought about it something struck me. Amazons are a warrior people who probably had some sort of breed of dog they would use for herding (they were pastoralists for years) and for fighting. I started researching a bit on dog breeds from Turkey, the Balkans and other areas in Europe.

The breeds that really stuck out to me were ones such as the Akbash, the Anatolian Shepherd, the extinct Alaunt breed and the mountain breeds found in Switzerland and the Balkans.

So what I came up with is under the working name, the Amazonian Mastiff.

History


The Amazonian Mastiff was a breed created from mixing stock from Sauromatian Alaunt breed with the Molossus dogs of the Greece and later the Roman Empire. Other breeds such as the early forms of the Akbash also played a part in the breeds creation. Over time and within the past few centuries the breed was recreated through careful lineage control and mating between specific extant breeds. What exists today is a hardy shepherding dog that can act as a hunting companion and also a guard dog.

Appearance and Temperament


The solid body of the breed is covered in double coated light color fawn fur. The face is marked by a dark brown mask and has a sturdy square muzzle. They eyes are large and good for sighting possible threats to the herds they guard, and their muzzles are built for snapping and tearing intruders to the homes they guard. Their coats become shaggy in the winter and retain a light double coat in summer. With long legs the breed is built to live on the wide steppe that once covered much of northern Thrace and into the reaches of Anatolia.

They have generally floppy square ears that few consider docking to create a sense of alertness for their dogs. The act of docking is considered an useless bit of show in most Amazon circles and the dogs often are treated as fully members of the family including places at the dinner table. This is a reflection of the Amazon tradition of feeding all at the cooking fire dating back to their times as wandering clans on the Eurasian steppe. The tail of the breed tends to be curved and furred in the manner of the Bernese Mountain dog. Their large paws are often used for grabbing and are built for traction allowing them to run at high speeds to keep up with fast traveling Amazon caravans in the past.

Amazonian Mastiffs are from a somewhat quiet aggressive stock. Bred as guard dogs for centuries, they were used historically by Amazonian warriors in front line assault and also in guardian of the warband tents. As a breed if they are socialized properly they will accept most outsiders and will only act a bit boistrous around those they do not know. Males tend to be slightly smaller and sleeker and were often used as sprinting hounds to take down fleeing enemies. Many believe that females were bred for larger size as a means to provide heat for young Amazon children while their mothers were heating the fire at night (note this fact is subject to change).

Availability


As the official dog and symbol of the Amazon Nation along with the Northern Steppe Horse breed (a breed said to be descended from the original horse brought from the Steppe when Amazonia was originally founded) and the Arrow, the Mastiff is rarely sold to outsiders. Carefully monitored kennels and breeders sell to identified Amazon families.

A resurgence in breeding has led to several programs interbreed with Akbash, Kangal and other Anatolian breeds to strengthen the stock as the Amazon people slowly retake their heritage.

Busy busy summer

For a while I've been slumped on writing for Arrow Child. It is one of my major works, and I've been distracted for the past few weeks by the activity of my guild. Now that PAX is ending I have had some more time to think and consider what I want to have happen with the book. The first aim is, the book needs to move forward and I want to flesh out more on the Amazon peoples. One thing I've been meaning to cover is their social dynamic within the family.

A good example of the issue with family dynamic is Eleni. Young Eleni Alkaiel left her family after graduating Primary School and spent the past few years at Oxford. She rarely left more than for a few weekends to visit her family. At this point she stopped speaking Amazo, she didn't say her prayer songs and well ended up angering her grandmother. In Amazon life, your mother's mother is the leader of the household. Each household then general shows respect to the elected mother of the bloodline. Bloodlines tend to be very close in connection, consider themselves expanded families it isn't uncommon to hear Amazons refer to each other as cousin even if they are bar related.

The sense of family comes from the feeling one get's by having joy in the blood they care. Amazons though they do say "Blood matters not, family is all that matters" do consider blood as a basis of family. This solidarity comes from the honor one has by claiming relation to one of the Honor Dead. The descendants of Alkaia show respect for the sacrifice she had for her people, and the same can be said for those descended from the Thirteen who died for Penthesilea. Each act of their ancestors is carried in song and by showing honor for their blood they keep the dead alive.

So when one walks away from all of this an issue arises. They are not traitors but the did disrespect their ancestors. To cause a loss of respect for the Honor Dead means to not sing for them and help keep them alive in the memory of the nation. When Eleni turned her back on her family she turned her back on the memory of Alkaia and all Alkaiel Amazons who have earned the right of Honor in Death. A complicated issue, that can in the modern day lead to several Amazons feeling disenfranchised by their family. Note, this is not a permanent thing, but it can cause friction. Amazons are not expected to treat the Honored Dead as gods, yet they are asked to sing for them.

To not sing is to lose memory and to not acknowledge the sacrifices and services the dead have done for the nation.

A long time of hiatus

I've been on a long hiatus as of late and it's had me thinking of Amazons. For the past month or so what is really making me wonder is who Eleni Alkaiel is. Often I envision this young college girl just trying to create a life for herself. Eleni is an enigma at times and makes me wonder what she is going to do.

So what I've been doing for a some work on an upcoming mass update to the Amazon language. To be honest it is massive. This word list is going to be probably about 1000 words long with then a whole bunch resolving derivatives from the original word list. I'm hoping to then work on a grammar to help explain the rudimentary systems of how to speak the language.

More coming soon.

Travellers, they are in...

One of the thing I'm considering tackling is the issue of Travellers in Ireland and Britain. The Amazons live in settled communities generally founded on the outskirts of major cities. Blending in as another multicultural suburbia, the one thing I'm wondering is how a Traveller cross-over would come in. This will probably require more research than I have done so far.

Why Travellers? Well the truth is, I'm Irish and I find the Tinkers to be an interesting feature of the Isles. They are gypsies in a way (they are no Roma, so not sure the term can really apply) who are nomadic and yet are not so. I'm already covering such things as the Nationalist movements so may as well toss in Travellers even if it's one character. With how secretive they can be I'm considering perhaps a Roma man who gets cut off from his family for being contaminated by the outside (somethign I know of) or perhaps his mother is Amazon. Or perhaps it is a her.

Be really interesting to see a female dominate society reacting to one that is stereotypically dominated by men. Especially how it could happen. Something to consider perhaps as a side story.

Long Hiatus almost over

The past several months have been a real crucible. I'm graduating soon so most work on Arrow Child and Amazo has been set back for a while. I've started work on slowly expanding the Amazonian vocabulary to a target of 300+ words by the end of the summer!

Some new things that will be upcoming in future Arrow Child installations. Poems in Amazo,and also other bits. Plus, I'm looking at possibly getting some character art work done in the future.

Sorry for the short blogling, but I have little time for now :(

The Cast of Arrow Child - A Quick Look

So for a while I've been looking at the cast of Arrow child. The major families represented include the Askers, the Alkaiels, and a few related members of the IRA. Now, what I want to really get into is a few new characters that are coming up oncoming parts.

The first group we're introduced to is the College Crew, basically Stephen, Emily and Petros. All of them are professors at Oxford in various departments with Petros and Stephen going both former teachers out of Athens. The thing about these three is they are basically the group that knows nothing. They are being tossed into this centuries long struggled between the Amazones and well, a few that don't like them.

The other group is the Alkaiels and the Askers. Two families who have for the past several decades intermarried and are fairly well aquainted with each other. Funny thing, one is Turkish the other is Greek. Usually this would create some friction especially with the matriarch of the Alkaiels being a Greek Cypriot, but nothing really matters.

The Askers are central to the main plot and a major part of the "Revelation" theme of Arrow Child.

So who is the Arrow Child? Well, whoever is reading the story can figure that out :)

The new characters I've written about are the girl who stood (named in the end of part 3), Lima Sweeney, Jimmy Boy and the mercenary's of Maura's sisters.

Maura is well, Maura is someone I love and I hate. She's a trafficker, a sort of Amazonian Irish Coyote. Both her and her band are former Nation fighters who went astray after their cell was nearly wiped out by the Turkish Military years ago. See for a few years, the Kurdish Paramilitary groups in Turkey had a few Amazones training with them. Maura's group as I will get to later was one of them!

A few more characters yet to show up. Tala and Qasim, both are in part 5 near the end I believe.

And then a few more of the Alkaiels! Oh, and of course mister Achilleus, the big bad (maybe) who speaks to Liam in Part 3!

So Spirits to You!

A small update on Part 4

Part Four of Arrow Child will focus on characterizing the College Crew more. The one thing I plan on doing for the upcoming information is a full set of character notes. Also a minor set of notes for the outline for the next few parts. A few more names to the Cast of the minor characters plus some notes on the existing ones. Mostly appearance notes to keep some form of continuity. Also, I've started noting a few more things related to another project which will be for the far future.

Another Blogling

Not a long blog tonight though I do need to type more XD

I have updated and expanded the Modality system of Amazo, two new custom moods that express aspects of English I wanted to include.

First is the Necessative Mood:

This mood which is marked by the particle "ζαν" or "Zan" [ʒɑn] and is used to express the need or necessity of something. This is used when someone wants to desire something but also uses said desire as way to express that they NEED it.

"I desire this thing" with the attached marker it adds a secondary meaning that the desire is more than want and is necessity to the speaker.

Second is the Evidentative Mood:

This mood is marked by the particle "χειζ" or "Heis" [χeɪs] and is used to express the inference of something. Phrases such as "must have" or "may have" fit under this meaning. This can also be used to state that the action is either believed to have happened or is not. Not to be confused with Subjunctive which states that something is the opinion or judgement of someone.

Finally I am considering a few more aspects, this is because I want to have a specific verbal system for Amazo. And with Amazon I want them to have a sort of almost poetic intensive nature of their thoughts.

Blogling Update

It has been forever since I posted. So I'm going to update a few things. First the third part of Arrow Child is ALMOST done and I've begun sketching out the fourth part. The general plot is more cohesive than most pieces of I've worked on and the characters are growing.

With the introduction of an associate of Liam's Sheila O'Rourke. A former IRA medic and relative of Liam, more of that to be revealed later.