Welcome to the Codex! Every Friday, we will focus on one topic from one of the upcoming books, or one of the books that have been published. The Codex will review what is commonly known about that topic in the world, even if just at a scholarly level. There will still be mysteries, but if you are interested in learning more about something you read in the book or in another blog post, the Codex is the way to go.
Mathklyr is a land of ancient traditions, too many to list fully. From Emperor to slave, everyone is enmeshed in the Empire's culture, and such is the weight of tradition after thousands of years, that those who do not respect it may as well not exist in the eyes of Mathklyrians. This is a phenomenon most foreigners discover, to their dismay. While in other countries, those who do not respect tradition are scorned, or scoffed at, or looked at with disdain, Mathklyrians simply... ignore them. As if they didn't exist. Of course, should the offender commit a crime, then the guards will be all too happy to arrest them - or worse. Those who do not follow Mathklyrian tradition within the Empire's boundaries are, quite simply, not thought of as sapient.
The most basic tradition to be respected involves two objects, the kadala and the katain. The kadala is a piece of headwear for women, comprised of a delicate netting of thin metal chains or strings, with a very loose mesh leaving large gaps between the strings. Atop the head, the netting is placed upon the hair up to the hairline, and from the center of the upper edge, a teardrop-shaped gem hangs on the forehead of the woman. The bottom edge of the kadala may end anywhere from the top of the neck to the shoulders, depending on the woman's personal preference. The kadala also covers the sides of the head, and ends just over the ears; here, two hooks (one on each side) are used to hang a diaphanous half-veil covering the lower half of the woman's face. The veil is thin enough that one can see the woman's features, but not so thin that it reveals everything.
The katain is the male equivalent of the kadala in terms of significance, but rather than headwear, it is a ceremonial dagger worn at all times. The dagger can be single- or double-bladed, but its pommel is always a specific stone, whether a gemstone or a semiprecious stone.
The stone of the pommel, as the teardrop stone of the kadala, are not randomly chosen. A complex language exists with each stone denoting the wearer's social caste (and relative position within it), allowing two Mathklyrians who encounter each other to immediately gauge how to approach each other. Even the Imperial Family is not exempt from wearing the kadala or katain, and their stone is the sapphire.
Slaves are the only ones in Mathklyr who do not wear kadala or katain (and in fact, are forbidden from doing so).
The reasoning behind the choosing of each stone is lost to time, though it is entirely possible that it has at least some association with the now-extinct race of the aossyr, especially considering that their ruling caste was known as the sapphire aossyr. Why Mathklyr, a human-centric Empire, would have adopted aossyr practices is unknown, and the theory may simply highlight a coincidence rather than an intentional choice.
More information on the kadala and katain in Mathklyrian daily life will be forthcoming in Ghostblood upon release. Thank you for joining us, and see you next week!
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