The Damiyat

The Damiya leads the Damiyat. None know the identity or whereabouts of the Damiya itself, including the most pious Damiyat. This is because the Damiya is some thing which bodily possesses its adherents to communicate with the Damiyat or any outside parties. All communication with this intelligence is done through a “possessed”; their eyes glowing violet, skin alive with arcane power, voice a croaking chorus. These representatives of the Damiya are elevated by a secret ritual, and hold a revered position within the organization.

The Damiya cannot be killed through the death of a possessed, as many rival organizations have been surprised to discover. Nor is it limited to a single representative; while this is typical, it is not uncommon for the Damiya to inhabit two or three representatives for a larger negotiation. Each acts as if they can hear and see that which the others do; meetings have been held between the edges of Vault with a Damiya at each location relaying the demands of the parties. The Damiya is cold, avian, and calculating; inhuman in conversation, it appears to struggle discerning one human individual from another. Yet its nature affords it a uniquely near-omniscient awareness; estimates of active Damiya possessed across Vault at any one time are in the dozens, as they negotiate, observe, organize, and arbitrate.

The Damiyat Precepts control the structure of contracts with the Damiyat: if a service is requested of another, be it protection, trade, or contract, a "Keepsake" is delivered from the client to the contractor, representing the Damiya's approval of the agreement. These Keepsakes are often trivial trinkets, yet failure to uphold a Keepsake agreement nearly always means death at the hands of the Damiyat.

A less formal contract is entered when an agreement or promise is made in the presence of a Damyat, met with the utterance, "It is Agreed." This serves as a pledge the Damiyat makes, striving to see the agreement upheld. Damiyat custom is to seek approval of these Agreements by the Damiya upon its next appearance, should the Damiya agree that the Agreement was valid, its retribution for the violation of this agreement can be as severe as those of a Keepsake.

Some Damiyat Precepts, while rigidly enforced by adherents, are far more akin to superstitions. Notable is the “Under Things that Live and Fly,” the Damiyat prohibition against speaking when birds are in flight nearby. Followers typically present this precept as self-evident and refuse to offer justification; it appears they themselves do not know the origin of this commandment, and follow it out of reverence to the Damiya. As the Damiya is the author and lone source for the precepts, it’s likely that only it knows why these more abstruse behaviors exist.

The core Damiyat Precepts are as follows:

• Greetings - An Unfamiliar Greeting; "No Hollow Bargains"

  • Offer a gift;

    • They accept: "Such Prosperity," a grave offense.

    • They reject: "May your indigence pass."

• Planning - Future Violence Will Be Discussed; "It is unseemly to meet without decorum."

  • Fresh coffee must be served

• Aggression - Violence Is About To Occur:

  • Coffee is requested.

    • If the listener acknowledges this in any way, violence is sanctioned

• Protection - Lender's Protection

  • If you require protection:

    • Offer to loan a Keepsake; "Should I die, you will be trapped in debt."

  • If they require protection:

    • Offer to accept a Keepsake; "Should you die, I will be trapped in debt."

  • Lender dies:

    • Keepsake must be kept to mark shame

• Threats - Violent Promises; "Do not pilfer violence of its import."

  • If violence against another is threatened;

    • Blood must be spilt

• Gifts - Gifts of the Weak

  • "Possessions must be won."

    • Do not accept gifts

    • Exception is life-or-death of another or oneself

• Flying Animals - Under Things That Live and Fly

  • Do not speak when watched by a living, flying thing.

• Apologies - Apologetic Debasement

  • If you have wronged someone;

    • Demand a gift of them,

      • Thus demonstrating indigence

• Officiating an Agreement - It Has Been Agreed

  • "It has been Agreed."

• Observing a Death - To the Great Sea

  • "To the Great Sea"

    • The lost soul is kept within a grain of sand in the southern deserts.

Since the winter of year 2388, the Damiya has ceased to appear, make appointments, or organize new contracts. In this unprecedented period of inactivity, the majority of Damiyat have been ordered to distribute across Vault and support themselves by finding work as their skills allow. The abdication of the Damiya has not gone unnoticed; many criminal enterprises found their contracts unfulfilled by the sudden absence, and seek a justice of their own upon the Damiyat.