View source for Item:Treasure-bound tel'athi treatise enriched by a Hav'roth's ambrosia

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|noun=treatise
|look=Resembling serpentine rivers of gold against a grass-green backdrop, elegant Eth'ral'khh calligraphy adorns the cover.  Logograms representing the Four Virtues and Eight Gifts surround the central gemstone, a rose-shaped amalgam of petrified insects.

A tel'athi treatise reads:
"Urshaanin's Singularity"
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|CTag=gold, grass-green
|STag=Four Virtues, Eight Gifts
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> STUDY TREATISE<br>
You turn to the first page of your tel'athi treatise and begin to read.<br>
You immerse yourself in the wisdom of your tel'athi treatise, deepening your understanding of S'Kra philosophy.<br><br>

Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

Surely you already know of the great reign of Sarkhhl, hero-king of the S'Kra, and therefore I will not bore you with knowledge repeated.  Our people flourished during this time as has no other race since -- not the Elves, even in their longevity, nor the Humans in their vast numbers, nor the Elotheans with their canny minds.<br><br>

Equally well do we know of a certainty that we were created through the invention of Hav'roth, and therefore the central spirit of what it means to be S'Kra -- called the Singularity -- has a reflective certainty of what it means to live in honor.  Although we may honor other gods for their virtues, Hav'roth and His aspects are first in our souls as the Creator of all S'Kra.<br><br>

We do not unnecessarily concern ourselves with such trifles as the overabundance of utterly useless softness that seems to infect other races.  Nor do we hesitate in sending a being, S'Kra or otherwise, to the judgement of the gods if such is deemed necessary.<br>
> > Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

We know to what we go when we die, and, as that knowledge is universal, there is no shame in sending a dishonorable soul to death if they pose a threat to those who exalt in the virtues of the tail.<br><br>

And as with all things, our treatment of ultimate dishonor is decisively swift -- those who have earned the title of smozh are not granted the clean death of the ceremonial q'zhalata, but are made to live with all knowing the shame of their tailless lives.  Such is just.<br><br>

> > > Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

Although the Clans may keep to themselves on many issues, some even coming to conflict over these, there once again exists the Singularity among all S'Kra-kind.  I offer here the ritual poetry of Avaar Tamigen, called Wildsong.<br><br>

Nine clans there are, of a spirit bold,<br>
Eight gifts from the gods they harbor<br>
Seven spears on a star imperial,<br>
Sixth race, but first in honor.<br>
Five limbs to the living vessel true<br>
Four virtues from which all spring,<br>
Three aspects to great Hav'roth blessed<br>
Two hands to glory bring.<br>
Thus do the gods in S'Kra conjure<br>
One singular soul of pride and honor.<br>
> > Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

The Four Virtues<br><br>

It is believed that the Four Virtues -- honor, loyalty, strength, and intelligence -- give birth to all others.  Fidelity, for example, comes of a combination of honor and loyalty.  Love in S'Kra, borne from all four together, is thus a thing of extreme power and abiding.<br>

Thus are all things S'Kra bound together, and part of an ultimate understanding.  This is what makes the S'Kra first among races, gifted in culture, beauty, strength, and, of course, honor.<br>

> > Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

The adept student will have noticed that there seems no parallel between the number of limbs on a S'Kra and the number of virtues.  Most races have four limbs, and S'Kra have four virtues -- but, as is obvious, a fifth limb in the form of the tail.  The significance of the tail is often difficult for non-S'Kra to fully comprehend, and more confounding to them is our following of Urshaanin's four virtues rather than what would seem a natural five these two concepts are in fact directly linked.  The four virtues are attached to the manipulatory limbs, so that S'Kra may utilize these virtues as one would utilize a tool held in the hand they come together embodied in the tail itself, which is a visible symbol of our supreme perfection.  See the glory in the S'Kra Mur, that we alone of the races were created with such thought and completion!<br>
> > Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

It is rumored that there are sentient creatures who also possess tails, unknown as yet to the Empire.  Certainly nothing is impossible, and the physical tail as a stabilizing force would be a natural accoutrement to any superior race.  However, consider, perhaps, the lion: a noble and fierce creature admired by our race and others.  However, the lion's tail is distinctly out of proportion to the other limbs.  Philosophically we might interpret this tail as symbolic of dwarfed virtue only in the S'Kra do we see a solid limb, equal to all others, in the form of the tail, carried as a symbol.  It is thus clear that any tail, to be the equal of the S'Kra, would have to be configured thus, and not like the many other tails seen in the world's creatures.<br>
> > > Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

The Eight Gifts<br><br>

Most S'Kra, whether they call them such or not, are familiar with the Eight Gifts.  Granted, when the S'Kra were created, they did not possess all eight, but these "original" creatures were birthed by Ushnish alone without the aid of either Hav'roth or Peri'el, and are certainly not considered the highest of the S'Kra Mur.  They were as the Gor'Togs were before our race lent them our hand in guiding their growth -- mere animals, certainly not to be considered a complete race.  A S'Kra Mur is not complete until he possesses all eight gifts, and thus the abominations known as the S'Kra Kor, as they call themselves, were splinter groups that fell away from the S'Kra species before all eight gifts were administered.  Most certainly we do not count ourselves among these low creatures, any more than do the Humans acknowledge goblins among their own.<br>
> > Turning to the next page in your tel'athi treatise, you read more about S'Kra philosophy:<br><br>

The first two gifts were strength and intelligence, given by Ushnish in the dawning of S'Kra existence.  The next three -- creativity, magical aptitude, and wisdom (which added language to the sharp and ruthless intelligence of Ushnish's creation) were given by Hav'roth upon seeing the untapped potential of the S'Kra.<br>

Peri'el's additions, warmed by her tears, were the gifts of the tail -- compassion, honor, and pride.<br><br>

Again, all of this is review, intended to ground the would-be student of Urshaanin in the teachings most basic to our race.<br><br>

This concludes our lesson on the philosophy of Urshaanin.  Concisely, it most accurately conveyed that Urshaanin's ideas embrace what it is to be S'Kra: we hold most fiercely to our clans and culture, but ultimately it is each S'Kra who will determine what he or she will become.<br><br>

Having finished your studies, you close the cover of your tel'athi treatise.  You feel mentally tired but enlightened.