Original 29 Abh clans - part I
The Abh population that originally created was thirty -- one
was lost during the last minute training. Later, those twenty-nine left the
mothership and became independent from the creators. These are the founders of the
29 Abh clans. Here, I summarize the brief introduction to their name and
characteristics.
Originally, there was no concept of "clans". Each of 29 Abhs had a specific task to
take care of on the ship, and as the population grew, children naturally took part
in their parents' tasks. And eventually it was settled that each clan would be in
charge of certain tasks. This was the start of the clans. However, as more and more
new clans are established, it became meaningless to classify a clan by what kind of
tasks it had. Also, the leader of each clan, who had been the commander of the
tasks of the clan, became nothing more than a symbolic figure. An exception to this
was Ablïarsec, which later became the Royal clan of the Empire.
The name Ablïarsec came from Amaterasu, the
goddess of the sun in ancient Japanese myth. The other 28 are named after the
constellations in 28 Seishuku(note: roughly means 28 constellations. It
is widely adopted in astrology.)
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Ablïarsec [abljars] |
Amaterasu |
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The name Ablïarsec came from Amaterasu, the
goddess of the sun in ancient Japanese myth.
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This clan was responsible for space navigation during the Grand Roaming Era
that all of the Abh clans were on a single spaceship called Ablïarsec. The leader of the clan would act as the king of
the ship, and he/she would control where they would go next, ds well as the
distribution of the tasks to the other clans when needed. In a
battlefield, the king was also the commander of the entire Abh fleet.
After the Empire was founded, while the other clan leaders' positions became no
more than honorary posts, the leader of Ablïarsec ruled
over the entire Abh as an Emperor. There were eight Royal families: Scirh([skiʀ]), ïrich([iriʃ], Üescoc([wesco]), Barcéc([barke]), Lasisec([lasis]),
Balgzédéc([balgzede]), Chülgzédéc([ʃulgzede]), and Crybh([kryv]). The name Ablïarsec was
only allowed to be used by the Royal families. Not only the clan name, but the
family name, néïc([nei]) was also exclusively
used by these Royal families. Those who were branched from the direct descendant
used bausec([bɔs]).
Only an Ablïarsec is allowed to have the pointy ears as üaritec([warit]).1 Ablïarsec were known to easily lose their temper and tended
to resort to violence for a solution; therefore, those from this clan were
considered to be the most "Abh-like" among all the Abh clans.
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East (Blue dragon)
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Ruc [ru] |
su. Dragon's horn. |
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Pronunciation from NANORI reading.2
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This clan was responsible for communication on the spaceship. They also care
for maintenance of electronics and other delicate machinery. Their üaritec([warit]) was called
"the nose of Ruc". In the early days of the Empire, they
wielded great power closely following Ablïarsec and Spaurh, and produced many diplomats, but gradually lost power as
many ground-origin career officials enter the bureaucratic world.
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Aimh [ɛf] |
ami. Neck. |
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A star in this constellation is called "the web star", and NANORI
reading of "web" is ami.
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This clan took care of the maintenance of the spaceship. They had "the silver
hair of Aimh" as üaritec. They
opened up many new ground worlds, but didn't do very well financially because
they tended to focus on useless wasteland.
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Lomh [lof] |
tomo. Chest. |
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Presumed to be NANORI reading.
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This clan was responsible for the spaceship's power grid like generators, motors,
lighting, etc. Their üaritec was called "Lomh's golden pupil". They were generally calm and cold-hearted,
thus explaining many military personnel and scientists are from this clan. When
the Biboth established the planar space navigation theory,
they provided engineering support. They lacked financial sense, so often were
called "the best as a warship's captain, the worst as a merchant ship's".
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Loepoess [lœpœs] |
soi(boshi). Stomach. |
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The four stars comprising the head of the Scorpion constellation.
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This clan was responsible for all of the medical and health care, excluding delivery.
They were known as the only Abh to have killed an Ablïarsec; the first king of the spaceship died when one
of the clan's ancestors gave him an injection. The syringe used at that time was
from the original mothership and it was treasured as an heirloom of the clan.
Their üaritec was "the slender fingers of Loepoess".
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Dachoc [daʃo] |
nakago. Buttocks. |
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nakago means "center".
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They supervised energy in general including Uanon. Üaritec was slim and long "Dachoc's
Lips". They tended to be delicate and many devoted to arts and literature.
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Aislairec [ɛslɛr] |
ashitare. Tail. |
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Corresponds to the Scorpion's tail and stemmed from ashitareboshi.
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This clan worked in metal refining. They do not fear failure, but because of
their tendency to act too hastily, they were not very successful in the military
or business. However, there were cases where good results would come in when a
long-range plan was established and pursued.
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Biboth [biboθ] |
mi(boshi). Tail. |
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They surveyed fixed stars on the spaceship and also took part in the decision
for ship's course.
Their üaritec was tender and curly "the Hair
of Biboth". Although notorious for "Gorgeous Insanity", such
a trait occasionally brought positive results -- one of the famous ones was the
establishment of planar space navigation theory.
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North (Tortoise)
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Cilych [kilyʃ] |
hitsuki, Tortoise and snake. |
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This clan was in charge of designing and manufacturing various machineries. They
were very successful in intra-ship commerce, but took a downfall after the Empire
was founded. They had talent in military and business, but it was very rare to
find a very prominent one. Their domains also gave stress to industrial economy.
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Idaimh [idɛf] |
inami. Snake. |
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This clan was in charge of DNA manipulation and delivery. After the Empire was
founded, they ran Terraforming Engineers' Association. Their üaritec was "Idaimh's Icy Eyes".
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Nych [nyʃ] |
uruki. Tortoise. |
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This clan's responsibility included living environments like recuperation and
nurture. After the rules around the clans were settled
down, they took charge of those rules and military morale. There were many
intrepid soldiers from this clan. Their üaritec was
sharp cuspid known as "Nych's Tooth". They were good as
commanders but not as staffs or traders. Even before the Empire was found, there
had been a saying among the grounders, "Avoid trading with Nych. Biboth, too."
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Lobitec [lobit] |
tomite. Tortoise. |
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This clan was the greatest in numbers, and took care of many miscellaneous tasks.
Their üaritec was dark green "Robitec's Hair". They had many Feudal lords and military
personnel, but none of them was very prominent. In the space navy, most of them were
staff officers rather than commanders.
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Fimegaimec [fiməgɛm] |
umiyame. Snake. |
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They were responsible for ventilation and hydroponic farms. They valued cheerful
spirit, but others thought them as careless. Their üaritec
was a black speckle on the middle of the forehead -- "the Star of Fimegaimec".
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Calyc [kaly] |
hatsui. Dragon. |
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They were in charge of navigation record of the ship, which was basically the
history of the Abh. They did not have a üaritec, and
they valued calmness and fairness. They considered the incident of disastrous
fire that engulfed the ancient navigation records as their biggest dishonor.
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Dabaimec [dabɛm] |
namame. Dragon. |
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Responsible for recycling and sanitation. Their üaritec
was slight red colored space-time sensory organ. (Dabaimec's
Diamond) Since their üaritec was always hidden behind
almfac([almfa] the hairband Abhs wear on their heads), it was
often misunderstood that they felt disgraceful about their origin -- in reality
though, they had a solid pride about themselves. They had in-depth knowledge
concerning organic chemistry and DNA engineering; they competed with Idaimh in terraforming business.
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| Ref: |
| 1 |
üaritec([warit]) is a physical characteristic that members
from the same clan share. Abhs are allowed to have such genetic manipulation as
long as the "guidelines" are not violated. For example, their hair color cannot
be red or yellow, while dark green or deep purple are allowed.
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| 2 |
There are generally two ways to pronounce a Kanji: the "ON" reading and the "KUN"
reading. ON reading is following the Chinese way; in other words, when the Kanji
was introduced from China, its pronunciation came with it. On the other hand,
"KUN" reading is often unique in Japanese. This is because a Kanji was assigned to
a pre-existing word.
For example, sei in "Seikai no Monshou" means a star. It is ON reading
of 星. As mentioned above, ON reading came from Chinese. In Chinese, it is
[xing] and in Korean, [sung]. Another example. 北 means "north". According to
the ON reading, it is [bei], [bug], and [boku] in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
in that order. Can you see how the sound transformed from Chinese, to Korean, and
then again to Japanese?
Let's go back to 星. When following the KUN reading, 星 is pronounced
as [hoʃi]. If you feel familiar to the sound, you are not mistaken.
hoshitachi no kensoku (Kin of the Stars) appeared several times in the
anime. Here, hoshitachi is stars. Now, hoshi has no
relation to Chinese or to Korean. Its Korean counterpart is byeol.
Both hoshi in Japanese and byeol in Korean have the meaning
"star", and the Kanji 星 happened to be assigned to these words when the
Kanji was introduced from China.
When I said there were two ways of reading a Kanji, I lied. In Japanese, there is
actually another way of pronouncing a Kanji. When a Kanji is used in person's
name, its pronunciation can vary drastically. It is so dramatic at times that
even Japanese people have difficulty in pronouncing it correctly. Quite a few
hard ones are separately managed. This is "NANORI".
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This page is quoted from Seikai no Senki Dokuhon (Banner of the Stars -
Readers' Guide)
Thanks to zt33l for grammar checking.
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| Created: 2003.01.16 |
Updated: 2003.07.25 |
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