Qodii
A village on Quafiirla, the second of Qufiil's two planets and the one dedicated to the preservation of the traditional lives of the Faulfenza.
Geography
Three days from a landing pad for interworld shuttles, Qodii is situated near the foot of a mountain range. There are rolling hills with forests on one side, and forests in a curve on the other, and a large lake between forest and mountains. The dwellings are made of brick and set along a path that leads to the Dancing Place, a circle in the middle of the village where the homes of the Tradition-Keepers are situated. [1]
Weather
Summer is the storm season, with violent storms building suddenly in the afternoon heat over the plains. By autumn the storms peter out, leaving occasional (but less savage) rains.
Layout
There are 38 houses in Qodii; new ones are erected at need, or old ones renovated and traded. It's rare for an existing house to be made smaller, but a house can be enlarged at need. The population hovers around 100 individuals, with around 70 adults and 30 children.
Four dwellings are conferred to Faulfenza holding roles in the village; these are situated around the central circle:
- The FireMother's house: The FireMother’s house was patterned in broad vertical stripes of alternating burgundy and orange, and the shelter-wrap that hung in the doorway was not one cloth, but two and a curtain of intricate beads, sparkling in the sunlight.[2]
- The Dance Teacher's house
- The WisdomDancer's house: ...the antechamber was not a greeting-room, but a place-of-scroll-keeping. Circular openings as large as her palm studded the maroon clay walls, their rows neatly aligned. In each of the openings sat a scroll, rolled and bound with a finely woven cord. Each opening was circled with a different chalk, blue, red, white, green, and all of them were numbered.
- The Favored Dancer's house
Individuals move into these houses based on their acceptance of those roles. In practice, the two dwellings that see the most turnover belong to the Dance Teacher and Favored Dancer, since these roles require young Faulfenza, while the roles of the FireMother and WisdomDancer usually remain with an individual until their death.
History
The parents of the Voice of the God, Daqan, were born in Qodii, though they decamped for the Sainai to give birth to, and raise him.
Inhabitants
The principals of the village:
- Fauldii Qodii
- Qiirun Qodii, the Favored Dancer
- Aunu Qodii, the Dance Teacher
- Jeqezii Qodii, the WisdomDancer
Families:
- Jeniiz Qodii and her younger brother, Duzai Qodii
- Baila Qodii and her lifemate, Neden Qodii
- Renii Qodii
- Loriziin Qodii (a girl Zafiil's age) and her family
- Nadau Qodii (a boy Zafiil's age) and his family