Sifa

The Silver Sea borders the northern shore of our world, vast and cold, especially in the winters, when the ice shelves grow along the coast in frigid, crystalline formations. Yet even in the coldest of seasons, should one look out into the frothing waves, it won’t be long before a spark of color pricks through the flurries of snow. Red and purple and indigo sails and banners, warm and bright as the fires of prophecy: Sifan ships, sailing in small convoys of three or four, in transit between their home port of Cera-Na and their innumerable adventures at sea.   The Sifa’s routes thread west from the northern Silver Sea, then loop down to the south along the windward side of the Claw Mountains. Their ships are particularly adapted to traverse these difficult waters, and therefore many have called this westerly band of rough water the Sifa Coast. To the Sifa, it is Sa-Schala, the Mariner’s Paradise.   Of course, one cannot discuss the Mariner’s Paradise without mentioning Cera-Na. This coastal village, made up of an eternally changing population of sailors coming in and out of port, is nestled in a bay on the ocean side of the Claw Mountains. The bay is protected from the harsh ocean winds by the cliffs, its waters calmer than those of the open ocean and a safe haven for ships that may have taken recent damage during their dangerous voyages at sea. Although Cera-Na enjoys some trade with the Dousan, who neighbor on the other side of the mountains, its visitors are primarily Sifa.   However, for those traveling to and from Ha’rar along the scenic trails that shoulder the coast, ever-lit wayfarer’s lanterns mark the way every hundred paces. The firelight in these Hooyim-shaped lanterns flickers eternally, visible even through the dense silver fog that cloaks the shore from twilight until dawn.   The Sifa are known for being as gregarious as they are mysterious. Though their home is in the villages across the coast of the Silver Sea, Sifas can be found all across Skarith as sailors, Mystics, and scoundrels. This has given them a reputation as untrustworthy, as many Sifas enjoy outwitting their slow-talking cousins and particularly as rogue Sifa have been known to resort to piracy and in extremely isolated cases slavery. When in port, they’re happy to trade anything and everything – including wisdom. As an old saying goes, ‘a Sifa does nothing for free.’   The ‘original’ Sifa clan was known for their flame-colored hair, a rare and coveted color among Gelfling, but now they allow any Gelfling into their clan who is willing to complete their joining ritual: Gelfling choose to be Sifa   The Sifa have spent many ages sailing the oceans of Thra. In fact, they feel so at home on the water that. some -Gelfling say they have more in common with the creatures of the Silver Sea than with their land-dwelling relatives. Due to their nomadic. fragmented history, there is no one central Sifan culture. As a result, communities found on individual Sifan ships and fleets can vary wildly in their customs and cultural practices.   Maudra Ethri became Maudra of the nomadic, seafaring Sifa clan only a few trine ago, making her the youngest of the current Maudras. She is spiritual and intuitive, relying on her Sifan Far­-Dreamers to guide her decisions—a practice not greatly effective when dealing with the Skeksis. She captains the Sifan clanship, the Omerya, an enormous vessel made of living coral. Given the chance, she would readily take her clan and sail away from the mainland to escape the Skeksis.

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History

  According to the Gelfling creation myth, Song of the Six Sisters, the Sifan's maternal ancestor had been entrusted by Thra during the Age of Innocence with the gift of telling the signs of the ever-changing winds.   During the reign of All-Maudra Seladon in the late Age of Division, the Sifa felt neglected and disrespected by her, believing that their culture was being undermined. A significant number of Sifans thus became seduced by the words of Fenth, who proposed seceding from the authority of the dominant Vapra Clan and begin a new "Age of Sifans".   Another diplomatic crisis occurred many trine later when the Vapran princess Brea erased the memory of Sifan elder Cadia, who had attempted to prevent her from discovering the truth about the Aureyal. After the death of Mayrin, Maudra Ethri supported Seladon's ascension to the position of All-Maudra. She later lead the Sifa into battle during the Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood.

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Daily Life

  Life on the sea is dictated by the whims of the elements and the skill of the sailors who traverse it. Calm days become stormy with hardly any warning—or one moment you may be staring down a hurricane and fearing for your life, and the next you’re gazing at the most beautiful, clear sky without a care or worry. Food and water appear and vanish like mirages, in shoals of fast-moving fish or early morning rain—if one does not know where to look, one might quickly miss any of the million things happening at any given time.   And so the Sifan way of life is to live in the moment. To value what is happening when it is happening, and to never rely too much on what one has—for at any moment, it could be gone. The most important things, living this way, are what brings joy, what one can remember of one’s past despite what might have been swept away, and what makes each Sifa who they are.   Although the currents that carry their ships are often unpredictable, thousands of trine at sea have endowed the Sifa with a knowledge of signs that to an outsider can seem prophetic, even superstitious. Reading the shapes of clouds and the pointed peaks of the waves, a skilled Sifan sailor can see a storm coming days in advance. It is this same skilled, specialized perception that may have evolved into the prophetic abilities of far-dreamers, who are able to read the otherwise imperceptible signs within a Gelfling heart. Even their children have a working understanding of magic and symbology. Indeed, reading signs and obeying them is perhaps one of the most important aspects of Sifan tradition—so much so that ignoring a sign can be considered offense enough to be left behind on a forsaken shore.

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Samaudren

  The Sifa, unlike many of the other Gelfling clans, do not sail, or live for that matter, in a single large group. Though they congregate at Cera-Na for important occasions, most Sifa travel in small groups of Gelfling, usually numbering six ships or fewer. These intimate groups, called samaudren (“sea brethren”), operate as a single unit. They sail together, sleep together, fish together, and eat together. When bringing their catch to market, they work together as well, sharing in whatever bounty they secure as trade.   Highly valued roles within any samaudren is the role of song teller. Thanks to the long distances between destinations, a song is often considered a luxurious commodity. Another aspect of samaudren, similar to Dousan xerics, is that the leader of these smaller groups is not always a woman. Which alone can be testament to the leader’s skill and competence, as despite their gender and lack of wings, they still must be able to leap between the masts and lines with the grace and agility of any maudra.

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Era-Ianem, the Wind in the Sail

  One of the most fundamental traditions of the Sifan samaudren is the idea that family is not a bond of blood but one of directionality. This philosophy is called era-ianem, meaning “wind in the sail,” and comes from a Sifan proverb, Care not what fabric makes your sails, but what wind fills them. As such, Sifan crews often recruit Gelfling who have either left their birth clan or been forced out. Because of their frequent acceptance of outcasts, they. are one of the most diverse clans both physically and in terms of their cultural outlook.   The idea of era-ianem is that, while all are made of blood and flesh, what is done in one’s life is one’s own invention. This is a philosophy that is contrary to many other Gelfling traditions, which place blood relation and clan loyalty above all other bonds. How era-ianem is applied among the samaudren manifests in small groups that often include blood family, but just as often were made up of unrelated friends who had created their own family.

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Far-Dreamers

  While they can be easy to spot, the Sifa can be difficult to catch. Even when they make port in Ha’rar for trade, they never stay for long. Though one might try to predict when the Sifa will arrive or depart based on the tides or the season, ultimately one will fail. The Sifa chart their courses based on thousands of signs interpreted by their renowned far-dreamers, who read the stars, waves, and everything in between. Though far-dreamers have been found among other clans, it seems that there is something special about the life of the Sifa Gelfling that cultivates the natural talents of the soothsayer.   Far-dreamers hear the Song of Thra in a way unlike other Gelfling. If the wind is the breath of the world, where most might feel it gently upon their cheek, a far-dreamer hears a thousand words within the same breeze, and sees a thousand visions more. When a far-dreamer speaks, Thra listens; when a far-dreamer sleeps, they settle deeply into the current of the world until they are fully enveloped.   Although the Sifa affiliate themselves with wind—for it fills their sails and determines their destinies—far-dreamers often incorporate the element of prophecy, fire, into their methods, whether through open flames in candles or torches, or items that have been burned—called yabo, “fire-touched.” Yabo are frequently sticks of incense or bundles of dried herbs, though sometimes far-dreamers use metal medallions or other tougher substances that have been blessed by fire.

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skekSa the Mariner

  Despite a life detached from the mainland, which revels in the glory of the Skeksis, the Sifa still maintain the utmost respect for the lords. Many Sifan ships have a carving or amulet of skekSa the Mariner fastened to the prow, as a way to ward off turbulent weather and seek luck.   Some of the Sifa regarded the Skeksis Mariner with the same distance that other Gelfling—the Vapra of Ha’rar, for example—regard the other lords. That is to say, with respect, and acknowledging that it is impossible for a Gelfling to know a Skeksis, just as it is impossible for us to know the suns or the moons or the Crystal.   Yet others—the maudra included—spoke of skekSa in an unnervingly familiar way. As if their interactions went beyond that of Gelfling to Skeksis Lord; as if the Mariner were more of a patron guide than a superior being of transcendent wisdom and power.

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Hooyim Boat Races

  The Sifa treasure the Hooyim, the multicolored, jewel-scaled fish that swim in schools of thousands near the coasts. When the weather becomes warmest, the glittering shoals ride the coastal waters toward Cera-Na—and so too do the Sifa.   There hundreds of Sifa gather with their windships, hulls painted and sails dyed to match the brilliant colors of the Hooyim. These small, one-Gelfling windships are built during the cooler seasons every trine, polished and balanced to perfection for the races, which take place in honor of their sigil creature.   In small pods of twelve, the sailors compete in races of speed and agility. The courses run along shallow waters, at first unbroken, but then into the places where the rocky landforms break the waves. Here the navigation becomes perilous, and only the most experienced and brave of the sailors endeavor to pass through. Many skiffs break against the stony fingers, at the mercy of the unpredictable water eddies and gusts of wind. Injuries are common, and there is sometimes death; but this is the life these sailors live. The risks are understood and accepted.   When a winner finally reaches the finish goal—sometimes by being the only skiff remaining—they are anointed with a winner’s dye: a spot of ink from the thumb of the maudra, placed upon their brow, which lasts for several days so all can see their mark of victory. In the evening, after the races are over, all the skiffs (or what remains of them) are brought to the beach and burned in an extravagant bonfire, complete with song and dance.   Sifan boat racing, more than almost any other tradition, seems to bring every Sifan value into one exciting, fast-paced event. To know one’s ship is to know one’s self; to navigate the dangerous course requires the most skilled observance of the signs of Thra. And, of course, to survive against the odds—and especially to emerge triumphant, marked and lauded by the entire clan—is perhaps the dream of any Gelfling, Sifa or not.

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Sifan Charms

  Being very superstitious, Sifa are often decorated with charms, bangles, beads, etc. More casual and worldly than other Gelfling, dressed for function (sailing and swashbuckling) and not fashion. The charms are made of nearly every material known to Gelfling. Some are quite common, such as charms braided from old sailcloth or carved from splinters of ship wood from a decaying vessel. Shells, scales, and pieces of coral are also very popular, along with driftwood and other small items that are easy to find on the shore or within the shallows along the coasts. Rarer trinkets include precious gems and metals, some in their raw state wrapped with wire, others carved or refined into beautiful amulets. Most of the charms are made of materials resistant to water and sea air, for obvious reasons, though some of the more fragile charms—feathers, for example—are kept in small glass vials.   One thing the charms do all have in common is that they were all collected as mementos. The Sifa wear colored cord (sometimes interwoven with chains of precious metals) to which the amulets are attached. The color of the cord signifies what the Sifa call directionality; red for the past, purple for the present, and blue for the future. The charms are attached to the different cords, indicating the direction in which the wearer wishes to take those memories. For example, charms that are mementos of positive events or beloved friends are often strung high on the blue cord. Sad memories are sometimes strung low on the red cord to be left in the past—although some prefer to bring their sad memories along the blue cord to remind them of the troubles they have overcome and the strength they have gained since.

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Day of the Rose Sun

  To the Sifa, the passing of the suns and moons is crucial to their maritime and spiritual schedule. The Day of the Rose Sun, in particular, appeals to the Sifa—perhaps because of its reddish hue, or because this day marks the change of the coastal winds that carry the Sifa to and from Cera-Na to Ha’rar. Once these winds and tides change, the Sifa migrate farther west, many not seen again until the winds return to their easterly routes.   To the Sifa, the Rose Sun represents fire and rebirth, as the winds shift. Many Sifa celebrate this change of season and direction in the traditional Gelfling way, with meditation and observance of the sun’s path through making and lighting candles. This makes for a lovely image, especially among many Sifan ships in the evening, as if the stars themselves have come to rest along the reflective silver waters and froth-capped waves. Some Sifa release the candles into the air in dyed paper lanterns, specially made to catch fire when they reach great heights, igniting in balls of multicolored flame overhead before dissolving into silvery ash.   Another Day of the Rose Sun tradition that seems exclusive to the Sifa is hair doll making. Especially popular among Gelfling adolescents, who are just beginning to experience the world as young adults, hair doll making is an activity wherein one cuts locks of one’s hair and wraps them with cord in the form of a Gelfling. These hair dolls are meant to resemble their maker, a self-portrait, complete with clothing made from scraps of their maker’s coats and capes. In the evening on the Day of the Rose Sun, while the candles flicker from every boat prow and rail, the dolls are tossed into the boat fires. In this way, the young Sifa open themselves to being born anew among the smoke and embers.

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Food

  It should be no surprise, of course, that the Sifan diet is comprised mainly of fish and sea creatures. At first it might seem that such fare must inevitably become tiresome. But the reality is that the bounty of the sea is just as—if not more—varied as that of the land and wood. Common foods include urchin and shellfish, Hooyim and giant usi. Meatless kelp dishes seasoned with sea salt, and rockfish from the bottom of the ocean.   Although nearly everything on a Sifan platter comes from the sea, they do keep a stock of some mainland ingredients: spices that cannot be procured or approximated on the sea, grains, and some of the harder cheeses, which do not spoil. Most importantly are fruits and vegetables. Though some larger Sifan ships have room aboard for small herb gardens, it is impossible to keep a larger garden at sea. And so, the Sifa frequently trade their catches and finds at port, namely in Cera-Na and Ha’rar.   Sifan cuisine favors bold flavors, especially fire dust, a spice made from grinding flame coral, which can be found in the shallow waters along the western Sifa Coast. This hot flavor pairs deliciously with the more subtle flavors of deep-sea fish and shellfish.

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Songs of the Sifa

  Gyr the Song Teller   Any song teller is well versed in the ballads of Gyr, who sailed long ago. The Sifa take great pride in Gyr’s work; although it cannot said for sure, most historians say Gyr was of the Sifa clan, and his wanderlust, compassionate heart, and gift of song are attributes highly praised by the Sifa. So, since his time, the Sifa have kept his songs alive.  
While the Sifa have preserved hundreds of Gyr’s songs, both in mind and tongue as well as on paper and tablet, since his time, many songs have also been written and told about his legendary adventures. One of the most well-told songs about Gyr is one that is known at least as far as the Spriton. The fact that word of his adventures has traveled so far from the Sifa Coast certainly speaks to Gyr’s widespread popularity among song tellers.  
Beyond his legendary songs and the songs of his adventures, some tales even suggest that Gyr may have had extraordinary powers. Of course, the talents and abilities of many folk heroes are exaggerated. True or not, Gyr’s magical gifts include the ability to speak in the Skeksis’ native tongue to a far-dreaming-like ability to transcend space and time, granted to him after a stay on a strange uninhabited island in the middle of the untraveled sea. And even though Gyr was Sifa, Sifan bards are terribly casual about their ancestor, agreeing that it is unlikely Gyr was the sorcerer of words many make him out to be. However, one ability that was more or less agreed upon was that Gyr was in possession of a sacred Firca that he dream-crafted himself from the bone of a Bell-Bird.   Bell-Birds, while scarce in today, are one of the few remaining creatures able to speak to stone. One is particularly blessed if one hears the echoing, ground-shaking, mountain-shivering call of a Bell-Bird, ringing out across the Skarith Land and audible from halfway across the world. Thus, it is not surprising that the songs told about Gyr’s mythical bone Firca say it was an instrument of incomparable power. One song in particular, written here, tells that the images and words of Gyr’s heart were etched into stone when he played upon the flute.  
The Mariner Star   The Sifa are loyal and passionate in their adoration of Lord skekSa the Mariner, leading them to name several constellations after their enigmatic idol. As the stars are often the only means of navigation on the sea, especially in the dark, when even nearby landforms are invisible, the Sifa have long used Lord skekSa’s features to characterize the night sky: For example, the Behemoth, a low-lying constellation visible far to the south, is named Vassafina after skekSa’s legendary beast of burden. And to the north is a bright configuration called the Mariner Star. Always visible, this constellation is actually three stars in close proximity. Some have illustrated it as Lord skekSa’s tricorn hat; others have envisioned it as representing the Three Sisters in star form. In turn, the Three Sisters are often represented in Sifan illustrations thus: skekSa as the Blue Moon, the Sifa as the Pearl Moon, and a mysterious entity called San as the Hidden Moon.   Whatever the representation, the light of the Mariner Star is fundamental to Sifan sailing, providing an eternal indicator of true north. Thanks to its constant shining, the Sifa sing dozens of devoted songs to this star, often overlapping with their thanks to and adoration of their patron Skeksis. The following is a song usually told by old sailors when they make port at Cera-Na and are eager to return to the open sea.  
Omerya-Staba, the Coral Tree   Around the rocky isthmuses that surround the port, there is a great coral structure in the center of the bay. It blossoms up and out of the water like a flower. The throngs of smaller Sifan ships look like minnows in comparison. The ivory and carmine reef is a vessel—an enormous ship built within a moving reef, accented with sails and rigging and a deck.   Its name is Omerya-Staba, or the Coral Tree. The Sifan maudra’s vessel. At her command, its sails unfurl and fill with wind, the rudders and fins built into the sides of the reef extend, and though it is thirty times the size of the other Sifan ships, it sails just as smoothly and easily.   Like the patron trees of the other Gelfling clans, the Omerya is regarded as the mother of the community. When it is in Cera-Na, there is always great jubilation; like a flock of birds, the Sifan ships congregate from all corners of the sea just to bask in the great Coral Tree’s radiance. So lovely is the tree that even the close-lipped Dousan cannot help but marvel at the sight when they come to trade in Cera-Na.  
The deck of the Omerya is built of long planks that create an even surface on the top of the ship, and in the center of the vast deck is a stone hearth that is always alight with scented fire. Here the maudra’s far-dreamers gather, spying in the smoke the signs that will guide the Omerya, and thus, the rest of the clan. For although the Sifa do not always flock together, they are loyal, and whatever course the maudra sets, the rest of the clan will embark upon it with every sail unfurled.   The masts of the ship are coral spires, reinforced with timber and heavy Sifan rope—only in this way are they able to contain the sails necessary to move such a large vessel. The maudra’s crew is at least a hundred Gelfling strong, all of whom live their entire life aboard the Omerya serving the tree and its maudra captain. The following call-and-response song is often sung by the Omerya’s sailors while they prepare the ship for a voyage.