The Official Silen Fah Blog

Official blog for all things Silen Fah! (And Merfaen tiz Ornaru, and Kokrahmvah...) Also home of Zac & Joy content. Run by the author ( @vellatra ); will reblog fanworks at my discretion! Cover art by @megan-karau Ask box is always open :)

[silenfah]

Olintingen - Allgreens

All Greens are green in every way - rounded maple-shaped leaves (except in autumn of course when they usually turn yellow), bark, flowers (three petals, look a bit like Easter lilies), fruit (large, perfectly round, taste and texture of pears), even the seeds. The only variance is the shade of green. They’re dioecious, meaning there’s a difference between male and female trees. Only females produce fruit, but they won't do it without a male to pollinate them. Even non-silturen can tell which is which by the way their flowers grow (females have single large blooms while males have clusters of smaller ones), and the texture of their bark (males are a little more rough-and-tough).

Inside the fruits can be found a single nut - other than being green and having no cap, they look just like acorns. Olinting silturen have pale green skin and straight, usually blonde hair. They’re slightly more common than the other varieties, in a nod to being the only variety for awhile.

[silenfah]

Retanidoen - Starseeds

Starseeds look a little like giant carrots! They have orange wood - the bark is especially bright - and they have long, dark green leaves that look like blades of grass. They do not produce fruit, but they are prized for their sap, which can be boiled down and made into a delicious syrup, much like the sugar maple’s.

Starseeds have seeds shaped like stars! Who would have guessed! Each seed has four papery little “blades” on it, kind of like a maple seed wing, and they’re known for spinning like helicopters on their way from the tree’s branches to the ground. Damaging the wings has no effect whatsoever on the viability of the seed.

Due to “pale orange” looking very like Caucasian “flesh color”, Starseed silturen are one of the more human-looking varieties, although their great height, pointed ears, black markings, and of course the males’ horns, should be plenty of tip-off that they are still silturen, to anything more than a passing glance. Their rut scent is reminiscent of maple syrup.

[silenfah]

Lalanayen - Songleaves

Songleaves are light brown wooded fruit trees. Their leaves, laid out flat, are a basic smooth-edged almond shape, but they curl up on themselves and make little “pipes” that whistle when the wind blows through them. Different sized leaves of course produce different tones, so a little grove of songleaves makes for an amazing, harmonious natural woodwinds section - literally.

Songleaf flowers look very much like apple blossoms. White, five petals, possibly with a little blush of pink on them. The resulting fruits are apple-sized, red, shaped and textured like blueberries, and have a flavor like raspberries.

Songleaf silturen are, like the Starseed ones, more human-looking than most of their kind, with lightly tanned skin. Their incorrect stereotype involves having good musical talent, either with their voices or with picking up instruments. (Many do, but that's true of silturen in general since they have centuries to practice, and music is kind of important to their culture.)

[silenfah]

Hifkatalen - Scentwoods

Scentwoods are known for their bark’s “spicy” smell - detestable to most insects, but generally very well-liked by people. For this reason, chests, closets, bread boxes, and other household containers that bugs are especially unwelcome in, are often made of this dark brown wood. Their leaves are heart shaped, dark green, and carry the same smell as the wood. Sometimes they're used in colognes or potpourris, but their most common use is as an invigorating tea, which has a mild amount of caffeine.

Scentwood flowers are small, fuzzy yellow things that grow in tight clusters. Since insects hate the smell of this tree, the flowers are given a wide berth by the usual pollinators, and must instead rely on the wind. The blossoms eventually develop into little olive green fruits, each containing a single seed about the size of a chocolate chip. The fruit is horribly bitter, even when ripe, and is a bit astringent too, like a green banana. Most people don't eat them at all, but some enjoy the energy boost - a single one of these “trembleberries” has the same amount of caffeine in it as two or three cups of coffee, depending on ripeness.

Scentwood silturen are dark brown, like Black humans, but not so dark that their actually-black markings cannot be seen. They tend toward tightly curled hair, and are almost never blonde. They have a faint scent about them that matches their tree, which lingers even outside the rut season (which is when a siltur's hormones will spike and bring out a fragrance that is hopefully attractive to potential mates - what scent depends on the type of siltur). They have a reputation for being more hyper than other varieties, but this is once again a misconception.

[silenfah]

Hishflunien - Secrethearts

Secrethearts are not very flashy trees… on the outside. Their grey wood and cedary leaf system isn't particularly eye-catching. No, the secretheart’s claim to fame comes from the grey wood underneath the bark - which is laced with veins of valuable metals! Which tree contains which metal is difficult to tell without cutting the tree, except in the autumn when they grow their nuts.

Secretheart nuts look just like acorns - size, shape, even cap - with one exception! The nutshells are made entirely of the same metal that runs through that particular tree. The sprouts are, understandably, very powerful to be able to break through that! They’re on par with farshanthis or tree of darkness sprouts, which oftentimes have to dig their roots into solid rock. The meat of these metalcorns taste like brussels sprouts and are the best source of nutritious metallic minerals (like iron and copper) in the world.

A note: the kind of metal within a secretheart tree is not random, or down to genetics. The sprouts have no metal in them at all! Instead, they grow their roots very deep, deeper than any other tree, and pull whatever they find. This connection was revealed to an inquisitive jeltur by the silturen a century or two ago, and now when one tree produces gold or silver acorns, the jelturen will scramble to plant them nice and close around it.

Secretheart silturen come in pale to medium grey. Their markings are black like (almost) everyone else's, but if the light catches them right, they have a pretty metallic shimmer to them.

[silenfah]

Imbeestrien - Soapneedles

Soapneedles are conifers with rose-colored wood and long, very dark green needles. The needles contain saponins and are the primary ingredient in most soaps and detergents in this world. They give off a nice rosey smell, which lingers on whatever is washed, unless an ingredient with an even stronger scent was added to the soap.

Soapneedles produce big, dusty rose-colored pinecones. These also smell faintly rosey, and are popular as air-freshening decorations in homes.

Soapneedle silturen have pink skin, ranging from pastel to dusty rose to bubblegum. Their hair is a bit on the coarse side, especially when worn short.

[silenfah]

Peshkatalen - Paperwoods

Paperwoods look a lot like birch trees with their white bark and black stripes. Their leaves, however, look like sage, in color, shape, and even texture. The papery bark splits and peels off every summer when the trunk is growing, revealing a fresh layer underneath. The cast-off bark is prized by artists and bookmakers, since it's a pretty sturdy, thin, flexible, and otherwise nice surface for holding inks and other mediums.

Paperwoods produce a nut with a hard white outer shell, and a black almond shaped core that has the texture and flavor of a cashew. Delicious, and also store well - for people *and* ichachas that bury them! Paperwood silturen have bright snow white skin, and surprisingly they are not more prone to sunburns than other silturen! Unlike albinos that have no pigment in their skin, these guys have pigment, it's just… opaque white. They also have markings that are more birchy than those of the other treefolk - lots of short straight horizontal stripes instead of long twists and crisscrossing curlycues.

[silenfah]

Chingvien - Moneyfruits

Moneyfruits have smooth, golden yellow bark, and pale yellow wood. Their leaves are squat and jagged-edged heart shapes, and have a funny way of “wiggling” in the wind. Flowers are white, with a minty center, and a single stripe of that color down the center of each of the eight petals. The flowers eventually develop into fruits that look oddly like oversized golden coins, round and flat-sided, about an inch thick, and contain a dark brown pit that's also vaguely coin shaped. They're delicious - thin skinned like a plum, juicy, taste like vanilla wafers. They dry well, and their flavor gets more concentrated when this is done, so vanilla “raisins” are a popular food for winter storage.

[silenfah]

In Silen Fah/Merfaen culture, a wedding is called a binding. The new couple is bound together - by love, by promises, and by an actual string or cord of some kind to symbolize the other, less visible things. Traditionally the bride and groom wear green, the color of life, in honor of the new one they are beginning together - and any other new lives they might begin by their union. The most commonly used set of vows is a poem, with each line either spoken in turn, (the first line by the man, and eventually the last by the woman) or each pair of lines being sung simultaneously (which produces an interesting harmony, but isn't as common since many people are not confident enough to sing, and in harmony, and in front of witnesses.)

Translation of the vows from Flunibu: To you, my love, I give all that is mine, Forever by your side, foul days or fine. My time and body in your service be, My patience, love, faithfulness, are for thee. Your secrets I will keep; they are my own, I'll share with you a bed, and you alone. Whichever serves you best, my life or death, And while I live, for you I'll draw each breath. I'll share with you a bed, and you alone, Your secrets I will keep; they are my own. My patience, love, faithfulness, are for thee, My time and body in your service be. Forever by your side, foul days or fine, To you, my love, I give all that is mine.

[silenfah]

Naynuvia - Rainleaf

Rainleaves are the weeping willows of the Silen Fah world. They have stormy blue wood, and long, slender, flexible end-branches that hang down instead of staying upright like the branches on the other trees typically do. Their sage green leaves are small, rounded, and slightly “cupped”, so they tend to hold water after a rainstorm - until something comes to drink it, or they’re hit by a stiff wind. Rainleaf seeds are about the size of grapes. They have a sturdy, transparent hull, and “meat” in varying shades of blue. They’re popular with children, who use them as marbles for various games.

[silenfah]

Malanga

Malangaen are black-barked conifers; they grow short needles that smell like balsam. Very Christmassy. They also grow very large nuts, about the size of coconuts but more football shaped. The outside of the nut is hard, like wood, but it tastes like dark chocolate. It can be ground into powder to be used for flavor. Inside the nut is full of bright golden mousse-like stuff that is very high in nutrients, especially amino acids, and still tastes very chocolatey. They're a common tree so chocolate is also easy to come by in Silen Fah. Because life is hard enough without chocolate being unhealthy and expensive. :) Malanga silturen have very dark skin, usually charcoal gray but sometimes even black, and white markings. Their hair tends to be a bit stiff and coarse, especially when worn short. They're a bit more genetically predisposed to weight gain than other silturen, and said to have extra sweet dispositions, though that's probably just a myth.

[vellatra]

They have tails now? They have tails now.

[silenfah]

Ketaine

Ketainen are the closest thing Silen Fah has to apple trees. Their wood is a somewhat dusty dark red, and their football-shaped, jagged-edged leaves are medium green with red veins. (Every leaf has seven “jags” - a point at the end, and three along each side.) The leaves taste like ginger and are popular as a culinary herb. Their flowers are pinky-purple with a red center, and have six petals each.

Eventually the flowers will become an apple-like fruit with pink flesh and a purple skin - the darker, the riper. Very ripe ketaines taste like apples with a dash of cinnamon. Less ripe is less sweet, and also more spicy, so forager beware!

Ketaine silturen have rusty red, heavily freckled skin, and curly hair, and they are traditionally expected to be more “spicy” - short tempers, fiery attitudes, etc, but this is a myth. You'll find the same percentage of “spicy” ketaine silturen as any other variety. They do however have a generally higher spice tolerance than others.

[silenfah]

Zilen tiz Ornaru - Trees of Darkness

Trees of Darkness are a tree species native to Silen Fah's universe - and incidentally, the national flower of the Merfaen tiz Ornaru. They can grow in indirect sunlight, but they thrive in the dark. Their roots are powerful, often digging into solid rock faces to gather minerals. Their flowers are bioluminescent.

The flower will eventually turn into a Fruit of Darkness. It resembles a pomegranate, except for being royal blue and pear-shaped. The aryls and juice taste like oranges, or orange marmalade, depending on how ripe/how sweet a particular fruit may be. Do not eat the outside rind it's gross tasting and also mildly poisonous why would you do that-

Every tree species in Silen Fah has a corresponding variety of siltur - "tree person". The Fruit of Darkness variety is purple, like the bark of the tree. While most silturen will eventually die without the sun, Darkness ones can survive without, although they won't be particularly happy about it.

[silenfah]

Baby silturen, called sprouts, are born in the spring, and they are very tiny creatures with closed eyes, a wildly small head-to-body ratio, and a fairly tough skin

[silenfah]

Happy Valentine's Day! Have some sillies

[vellatra]

Haf some random depressing bits I wrote recently! :D

I'd barely spoken at all, at this tactical meeting. Maybe that was why Almira gave me a strange look, when I approached her as the other captains left.

“Great One,” I began. “Wasn't there supposed to be a prisoner exchange today? I could handle it if no one's already been assigned.”

“Oh, didn't anyone tell you?” Almira said, raising an eyebrow. “We rescheduled and did it yesterday. Sanoj took care of it.”

Yesterday? How had I missed such an important change? Had I lost that much focus? Never mind. Sanoj would remember the details. “Thank you, my lady. I'll check with him, then.”

“No need, dear. He reported to me, so I can tell you. There were three men, a kubli and two luturen.”

“That's… that's it?” A whole exchange made for three people? It had never been done before, unless one had some rank to him.

“That's all they had,” said Almira. Her face softened in sympathy. “According to the official Sanoj spoke with, the entire country was audited for prisoners of war, and these were the last of them. There's no one left to exchange now.” She rose from her chair and came closer to me. “Now, you know I don't want to dash any hopes, but… it's been years now.” Her wrinkled hand came to rest on my arm. “It's probably time to-”

“They're lying,” I snarled, jerking my arm away.

“Why would they lie,” Almira asked, her voice very gentle, probably fearing my reaction. “He has no more strategic value than any other captive, and they're desperate to stop the Flaming Father, too. Holding hostages hasn't helped them with that-”

“I don't know why,” I hissed. She was making too much sense and I didn't like where it was going. “I don't know why, but they have to be lying. Or they forgot to look somewhere-”

“You need to stop,” Almira said as she shut the door, giving the two of us more privacy. “You can't keep up the way you've been all this time. Mind, you've given us a huge advantage doing what you've done, but no one's designed to handle that much stress and three full time jobs all at once.”

“What I've… what?”

“You've taken me for a fool,” Almira half-laughed. “You're missing a son, you're obsessed with getting him back, you clearly don't get enough sleep, and fire is… well, your thing. You think I haven't connected the dots by now, Mr. Flaming Father?”

I hesitated. Surely she wouldn't order me to stop, would she? Following orders was the first rule of the army… but I wouldn't be able to follow that one. Not with my baby in danger. “What do you want?” I finally whispered.

“You, at your best,” she said, crossing her arms. “And you haven't been. Not for a long time. Leading the army, keeping your household, and being a lone vigilante all at once is wearing you down something terrible. Look at you. You're what, forty?”

“Thirty-three,” I mumbled.

“That's my point; you barely look younger than me. Keep aging like that and you'll drop dead at your post before long. That doesn't do anyone any good - and certainly not your son.” She clasped my hand with both of hers. “I want you to take a deep breath, and let go. There's no shame in giving up, if it's a lost cause-”

“It’s not a lost cause!” I shouted, tearing away from her again. “It can't be! I won't let it! He's out there somewhere and every moment I'm not looking is a moment wasted!”

“Vellatra, please-”

But I wasn't going to hear any more. I couldn't stand it. She meant well, but she was wrong. She had to be. I hurried out and slammed the door behind me, drowning her out… and also drowning out the little voice in my head that thought she might be right.

I'd disrespected my commanding officer. Too bad. She'd told me to stop. Also too bad. I went home, and barely noticed no one was there, as I donned my smokey cloak and prepared to head out again….

🍍 A few, months, later - 🍍

It had been weeks now, and Aileev still wasn't talking to me.

Many nights, she didn't even come home from wherever she was - Veelia filled me in, and it was usually one or the other grandma's house. I kept trying to think of ways to make things up to her, but what she'd said was painfully true. Nothing was going to bring her childhood back. There was no giving that time back to her. There was no redoing it. And I was afraid that nothing would ever make sufficient amends for that.

Even if there was something, it was hard to start when she made herself almost as hard to find as her brother.

So, I tried to start with little things. I'd make her favorite things for dinner, if I had the time and the energy. Sometimes she didn't come home those nights. I took over most of the housework again. Veelia helped a lot, on the days the army wore me out. Aileev used her new freedom to stay away from the house even longer. The rare times we did cross paths, I'd try to say something. Half the time, the words would stick in my throat. The other half, she'd be out the door before I'd finished a sentence.

I didn't dare try to hug her again.

"Captain Vellatra, have you been listening to a word I'm saying?"

I startled and sat up straight. Right, right, we were in a meeting. Not the time to let my mind wander. "Apologies, Great One." Then I noticed it was just the two of us in the room. "Is the... did the meeting end already?"

"Some time ago," said Almira, frowning. "You know, I thought stopping your solo escapades would do you some good, but it's only made you worse. You're barely focusing, and always look just about ready to cry." Her hand settled on my shoulder. "Do you want to talk about things?"

No I did not. Not with her, anyway. Maybe my mother.... Although, she'd probably heard the girls' side of the story already. Why burden her further? "You've got plenty to worry about as it is, Great One," I said, carefully choosing my words. "My problems would just add on."

"You're right, I am worried about many things," the older woman grunted. "And one of those things is my fi captain," she added pointedly. "Very well. Don't talk to me. But I suggest you talk to someone, alright?”