Ninjas

The Ninjas are one of two dominant powers in The Antelope Books (In this case, the term "Ninja" refers to a culture, rather than a profession). Their rivals are the Pirates, and their principal cities are Ninpou and Receon.

Language

Ninjas speak Common and do most of their writing in it. The Ninjas also have a traditional language they refer to as Kanji or Kanji Script (often referred to simply as "the old script"), which uses a slightly different sentence structure and alphabet, but is effectively the same. Being much more poetic and aesthetically beautiful, the old script is primarily used for decoration, ornamented signs and such. It is also the language of all religious texts (Seethe section on 'Religion', below).

Some high-born ninjas and those of particularly wealthy families may choose to have their children educated entirely in the old script (at great cost). Most ninjas, even commoners, are taught kanji in school as part of their education; though, depending on the quality of the school, the extent of instruction may be limited.

In addition to the old script, Ninjas have a few words and phrases of what they call "the old tongue". However, no intact writings or even nearly complete lexicon for the old tongue survive. Each word or phrase has its Common equivalent, and what bits of the old tongue are know usually are spoken alongside. Typically business, personal, most education, and most literature is written in common peppered with words or phrases from the Ninja lexicon.

Culture

The ninjas value space-efficiency. Their homes, particularly middle and lower-class homes, are often cramped, and making best-use of available space is always a priority. Beds are typically very high, and bunk-beds are common, as are beds with cabinets and drawers underneath for storage.

This particular trend in space-usage has led to a number of curious results. Specifically, the height of one's bed off the floor denotes social status; the higher the bed, the lower the sleeper. The poor often have to sleep very close to their rafters or even in lofts, while the very wealthy have their beds in depressions in the floor. These are not strict rules, but a general fad. Most ninjas prefer their beds exactly halfway between the floor and the ceiling.

In Ninpou, as in most large Ninja cities, books are a highly prized commodity. Not a rare one, but important. As such, book lenders often live on generous stipends provided by the city, in exchange for lending books free of charge to the public, and maintaining their collections. A few large libraries also exist; but private citizens aren't often allowed to explore the more obscure stacks. Only common and popular books can be found in these libraries.

Festivals

Every holiday on the ninja calendar calls for a celebration. Every full moon they celebrate the Light's Day Festival, and there are five or six other major holidays throughout the year (thus an average of two festivals per month). Some regions also celebrate the night of the new moon, or Dark's Day.

Festivals are always held after sunset, lit by torches, lanterns, and bonfires (though most ninjas have excellent night-vision). Whenever one of the major dated holidays coincides with Light's Day, it is cause for an even greater celebration.

The festivals are held along the processional leading up to the local temple. In major cities such as Ninpou, local neighborhoods might hold smaller festivals around their own shrines.

The festivals are all largely the same: booths offering food, goods, wine, or games. Lots of music, prizes, dancing, and everyone dressed in their very best. The men always wear their blackest clothes, while women don festive kimono-style outfits filled with bright colors. The festivals are heavily steeped in tradition, and each includes hundreds of small, unwritten rules that must be followed.

Each festival is also completed with offerings at the local temple or shrine.

Religion

The ninjas do not necessarily have a concept of "sin" or feel that any specific act is, in and of itself, inherently good or bad. Instead, their system revolves around a concept of honor, that a given act is honorable or dishonorable. This means a great deal of subjectivity, which most Ninjas freely admit is a bit of a problem.

The ninja religion can best be described as "complicated". In simplest form, the ninja "god" is a being they call "The Undying Soul of the Ultimate Warrior": a twelve-foot-tall being covered in armor, carrying a two-handed sword in each hand. When a ninja dies, the Undying Soul judges them according to the cleanlyness of their honor-coat(more on that bellow), and they must fight him until either the dirty parts of the coat have been cut completely from their bodies, or until the Soul kills them(Note: Ninjas absolutely believe you can feel pain in the afterlife and that the Undying Soul can kill you).

The ninjas believe that everyone wears an invisible "honor coat", and that every sleight or dishonorable act is a stain on that coat. No one can defeat the Immortal Soul, but if your honor coat is clean, he will allow you to pass freely into the afterlife. The dirtier the coat, the longer you must face him in combat; and if he kills you, your soul is forever destroyed.

The Undying Soul is typically depicted as mute, and communicates his desires through honorable combat(he has a somewhat limited vocabulary). The ninjas do not directly venerate the Undying Soul, but rather pray to their ancestors, whom they believe have already passed the tests of the Undying Soul. Ancestors can provide wisdom and guidance in this life, as well as help to forgive wrongdoing and erase stains from one's honor coat.

After Lives

The Ninjas believe in a "heaven" called Eiennoeiko, which is an eternal journey towards glory, and a hell. Every ninja has the opportunity to go to Eiennoeiko when they die, but must first face the Undying Soul of the Ultimate Warrior. Their ability to begin the journey is determined by their honor coat: if it is clean and without blemish, the Warrior will let them pass immediately, and the dirtier it is, the longer they will have to fight him. If the coat is "heavy" with stains, they may not be able to fight at all, and may die again. This Second Death is considered to be the ultimate shame.

According to some interpretations of the legend, the battleground is littered with those whose honor coats are so heavy they cannot even move to fight for themselves.

Basis

The ninja religion is based on a set of stories called "sacred texts" from which various parables are derived. The texts are always in the Ninjas' traditional written tongue. By tradition, the texts must always be hand-copied, though with the advent of the printing press, numerous mass-marketed books in the common language were produced. Still, each temple retains its own set of hand-written copies. The sacred texts are, in fact, so numerous that it is believed no single temple holds a complete copy. Save for [the main temple], which tradition holds has the only perfect record as well as the originals. Though it is not a primary story element, the series builds on the religion all through the three volumes. In the third book, the primary antagonist invents his own series of scrolls that allows him to seize control of a large portion of the ninja population. This is especially infuriating for the protagonist, who has seen the original scrolls and knows exactly what the ninja religion is truly based on.

Shrines

The religion has grown with age, as the deeds of living heroes are included. Each temple has a number of shrines dedicated to warriors who were good and true ninjas, generally those who died in great battles and achieved great victories. When a ninja commits an act of dishonor, they must go and make an offering before and appropriate shrine.

Smaller temples, such as those in new colonies or sparsly-populated areas, have a sort of "one-size fits all" shrine that is considered "every shrine". Some are even as small as a birdhouse.

Priests

Priest Information here. Presumably, they look after the temples; memorize the rituals (to be recited on each proper occasion); conduct offerings and sacrifices; offer prayers in the old native language; dispense curses and blessings; preside at births, namings, marriages, and funerals; and play the music at the major festivals.

Ancestors

An important part of the belief system revolves around ancestor worship. Your ancestors, who have already passed into the afterlife, can help you face the Undying Soul and guide you to the proper shrines to remove stains from your honor-coat. Further, the Ninjas place a high priority on family lineage, genealogy can mean more about your standing than anything else.

By and large, the religion focuses on ancestor-worship and honor. The afterlife is described as a great journey, having no end. When you die, after you face the Immortal Soul of the Undying Warrior, you begin the journey. Your ancestors who have passed before you may also leave signs for you to interpret.

In addition to the religious shrines, every household has a small family shrine in which the genealogy is recorded, and where they can make offerings. Each shrine is composed of several elements and has small icons inside that represent various figures.

Government

The Ninjas have an Emperor; but they also have a High Council, who run the empire day-to-day while the Emperor makes the most-important decisions. Occasionally someone thinks that either Emperor, or High Council, could act alone; but this idea has not been put successfully into practice, before the time of the story.

Calendar

The Ninja calendar is fraught with difficulties. Officially speaking, they count dates from the year in which the current emperor began his reign. This creates serious issues, since news of a new emperor coming to power may take months or even years to reach some of the outlying provinces, leading to inaccurate dates. When a new emperor comes to power, he ascends the throne immediately, so only dates within the capitol are known to be accurate.

Dates are also not typically given in direct Day/Month/Year, but rather tracked by season and year. Ryo, for example, talks about her age in Author of the Gust, in which she explains that at the time she was actually born, it was the 74th year of Emperor Tau's reign, while that same year Emperor Lycet came to power.

See Also:

Antelope Books