Editing Diaphane (section)

===Charsides, helot client state===

The Charsides are one of the oldest helot cultures of Diaphane. Their lands had always been extremely fertile, but they claimed this was because of their custom of burying living victims in the soil of their most fertile fields. When they were conquered and civilized this custom was forbidden – which has caused them to be avid supporters of every helot rebellion, so that they might once again feed their hungry fields. “Charse is beating its plows into weapons” is a watchword for revolution in Diaphane.

Following the Second Shattering and the bloody helot revolts that led up to it, Diaphane built Sun Towers throughout the lands of the Charsides – not so much to protect them, as to threaten any revolts with the burning rays of the sun. Since then the Charsides have complained of being plagued by hungry ghosts, but when the Archons sent magicians to investigate, they reported nothing. Finally an extremely clever archon had the Charsides take her to the locations of all the most peaceful haunts – and promptly deputized those ghosts as magistrates to oversee the unruly, hungry ghosts. Ever since the Charsides have gone to complain to the magistrate ghosts, and the Archons have not been bothered.

Occupations: Helot, Farmer, Ghostcaller, Tinker, Woodcutter
Suggested Skills: Farming, Polearm, Smith, Occult (ghosts), Forbidden Lore (field sacrifices)
Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Diaphane), Charsic (native language), Glossa (accented language)
Suggested Quirks: Belligerent*, Incompetence (magic), Proud
Suggested Spells: Feed Ghost (IQ/Average), Identify Ghost (IQ/Hard)
Rumor: “Now that they have been subdued and civilized, the Charsides have been eager to learn pellucid magic, so as to be able to see the invisible and hungry ghosts that plague them. Despite their studies, they all say that these new spells do not show them the invisible ghosts which they know to be there, and so they have complained bitterly. Cryptomancers sent to look into the matter have never seen these ghosts, either, leaving everyone confused and annoyed.” 

-- by Kakita Kojiro