The Artifact of Foex (47 page)

The races of Uos

Bisque:
The lightest skin tone on Uos,
a pinkish beige comparable to white people on Earth. Light-haired
individuals often have streaks of sea green in their hair, thus the
nickname “greenies.”

Bistre:
Extremely dark-brown skin with
an underlying purple tone, most often found around the Jantrael
Straight. Thanks to the economic stronghold of Eich che, this race
is considered to be the second most powerful people on Uos.

Fallow:
A light-brown skin tone,
usually with curly hair. As fallow people emerged from Tache as a
colonial power, they are considered the most powerful race on
Uos.

Flaxen:
Much like Asian people of
Earth in skin tone, they have universal red hair. Flaxen people
have similar features and tend toward highly eroticized primary and
secondary sex characteristics.

Gamboge:
Orange skin tone with black
hair and hatchet-shaped noses, originally found on Palister.

God affiliates:

Flame:
Affiliates of Pelin, Flame are
among the most designed, highest maintenance people on Uos in terms
of physiological divergence from the norm. They are human-form
shapeshifters who can heal most injuries by bathing in fire. Flame
reincarnate and remember past-life memories during initiation in
fire.

Literati:
Belonging to the god
Philapo, Literati are among the least designed affiliates. Literati
are more like a religious order than anything else: always male,
they almost always take up the profession of teachers,
philosophers, professors, researchers or administrators.

Magicians:
Extinct thanks to the death
of their god, Foex, Magicians once ruled large chunks of Uos.
Magicians reincarnated like Flame.

Merchants:
More a vocation than god
affiliates, most Merchants conduct business independent of their
god. However, Genis has a tendency to be extremely obsessive and
becomes personally involved if a Merchant is in a field of his
current obsession. They have no outward marks or body
modifications
.

Nuns:
A new affiliation—less than a
century and a half old—Nuns are a sisterhood of women organized
into local orders that are more like artist’s colonies than
anything else. Nuns take vows as a “time out” from relationships,
family, monetary obligations and work in order to grow as
individuals.

Shadow Dancers:
Affiliates of Aiena,
Shadow Dancers often reside in a Cluster: a living space invisible
to the naked eye in a sectioned-off part of the God Plain. They can
become invisible.

Higher beings not of the Pantheon:

Aerora
(āy-ROAR-a):
The mother of gods, she was often referred
to as “Mother Earth” in Ventris and Coterie cultures. Aerora has
not been seen since she destroyed El at the end of the Crimson
Era.

Consorts, the:
In mythical times of
the Ecru and Magenta Eras, five consorts came to Uos to carry on
relations with Aerora. The consorts are the other parents of both
Metacors and gods.

Metacors
(MEH-ta-cōrz)
:
The elder children of Aerora,
Metacors were giant creatures; intensely intelligent carnivores who
considered humans tasty treats.

The Pantheon:

Aiena
(eye-EHN-ah)
: Youngest sister of Foex and Survjug,
foster mother of Pelin and Elac. Aiena’s affiliates are Shadow
Dancers.

Acia
(AH-see-ah)
:
Daughter of Survjug and Philapo, her affiliates are Nuns.

Castasy
(CAST-ih-see)
: Sister of Genis and Tarro, the wife of
Resoan, mother to Elocu, Cencci and Tecnol.

Cencci
(sen-SEE)
:
Daughter of Resoan and Castasy, twin sister of Tecnol.

Elac
(EH-lack)
:
Twin brother to Pelin and adoptive father to Syche, his affiliates
are the Phoe.

Elocu
(eh-lō-KŪ)
:
Son of Resoan and Castasy.

Foex
(foyks)
: The
oldest god, Foex managed to drink himself to death at the end of
the Cobalt Era. His younger siblings are Survjug and Aiena. His
affiliates were the Magicians, who died shortly after their
god.

Genis
(JEEN-is)
:
The oldest of four—his younger siblings are Tarro, Castasy and
Philapo—Genis is the ex-husband of Pelin and biological father of
Syche. His affiliates are Merchants.

Gundi
(GUN-di)
:
Son of Survjug and Philapo, older brother of Acia.

Juste
(joost)
:
Currently in a threesome with Philapo and Survjug. She has a twin
brother, Resoan, and a daughter, Kaja.

Kaja
(KAH-jah)
:
Currently the youngest member of the Pantheon, she is a babe in
arms, daughter of Juste and Philapo.

Pelin
(PEH-leen)
:
Twin sister to Elac and mother of Syche, Pelin is a sensitive,
nurturing goddess. Pursued by many gods, it was Genis who finally
managed to woo and wed her; their subsequent fallout and divorce
had major impact on human societies. Her affiliates are the
Flame.

Philapo
(FIL-ah-pō)
: Philapo and his wife Survjug have recently
entered into a threeway with Juste. He has three children: Gundi
and Acia with Survjug, and Kaja with Juste. His affiliates are the
Literati.

Resoan
(rih-ZŌ-an)
: Twin of Juste, husband of Castasy, and
father of Elocu, Cencci and Tecnol.

Survjug
(SERV-judge)
: The oldest goddess, she is sister to Foex
and Aiena, wife of Philapo, mother of Gundi and Acia.

Syche
(SĪGH-key)
:
Daughter of Pelin. Her birth was severely affected by the advent of
slavery.

Tecnol
(tek-NŌL)
:
Son of Resoan and Castasy, twin brother of Cencci.

James L. Wolf
is a Story Editor and
author at Forbidden Fiction. He has often wished he could change
from one gender to another on a daily basis, depending on his mood.
As it is, he chose to change his pronoun only once, transitioning
from female-to-male. James lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Works by James L. Wolf

Flame Cycle

Chaining
Flame
The
Artifact of Foex

Other Works

Sacrifices to
Ecstasy
Whisk
Together
Divine
Momentum
Consoling
Psyche

The Flame Cycle tells the
story of the Flame—shape-shifting sexual mystics chosen by the
goddess Pelin—throughout the history of Uos. The Flame have been,
at times, advisors to royalty, sex slaves, and the targets of
genocide.
The
lives of the Flame are woven
through more than four thousand years of history on the world of
Uos. The Flame reincarnate eternally, recovering the memories of
all their past incarnations in each new life.

James L. Wolf creates a
vivid portrait of the history of this world as
seen through
the eyes of the Flame. They’ve seen Uos in all its glory and shame,
through conflicts between gods and kings, revolutions in politics,
culture, and science, and the most intimate details of human
lives.

Works in this series:

Chaining
Flame
The
Artifact of Foex

ForbiddenFiction.com
is a publisher
devoted to writing that breaks the boundaries of original erotic
fiction. Our stories combine intense sexuality with quality
writing. Stories at ForbiddenFiction.com not only arouse readers
through sensations, but also engage them emotionally and mentally
through storytelling as well-crafted as the sex is hot.