Backstory
Interview recorded: 50-70-219 Anunnaki calendar
Interviewer: Riba of the Ab-Ishtari
Subject: Anathet the monk (Anat for short)
Planned story: “How to garden properly, the Zhianku way!”
Proposed run: “Sunday podcast: how to make your home beautiful and please your masters.”
Q: So, your work has been the talk of Halcyon, and the rumors are that you’ve been outside the bounds of Earth! Tell us a little about yourself, where did you come from? What makes you special?
A: Well, honestly, I don’t think I was ever normal. I mean, I suppose I was a normal baby, maybe? But my mother used to say that I looked at her right after I was born and it was like I was looking right through her. She told me I laughed when she first held me, but she knew it wasn’t her smile. It was like...like I could see something dancing just beyond her and it was welcoming me to Earth too. None of the Zhianku have ever told me if anyone was there, but I suppose it’s possible, y’know? Ah sorry, sorry, The Anunnaki keep telling me I’m supposed to be more formal when I’m doing storytelling, I should practice. So, one supposes that it is possible, such things are anyone’s guess. Recreating the distant past is like trying to draw yesterday’s raindrops on today’s dry rocks.
There, totally nailed it. I rock and am the best, thank you.
Q: You mentioned the Zhianku. Can you tell us about them?
A: Ah right, it was the Zhianku who took me. They don’t come here often. They’re not really... friends with the Anunnaki, and, well, there aren’t a ton of them on this half of the galaxy anyway.
Mostly because they don’t want to be, the Anunnaki are so crude she thought to herself.
When they come, they’re stealth. Like, they don’t have huge war ships, but the eclipse blades and the civilian eclipse...uh haven I guess? (Look that’s the best I can do in translation, the original word is like “garden contained within four walls”) can move through most places totally undetected! It’s really cool, you’ll never know they’re right under your nose as long as they’re not shooting at anything or trying to talk to you.
Wish they were here now she thought. I’d love to talk to them. Maybe I can find a way to do that.
They’re an empathetic people. I’m gonna use that word a lot, empathetic, it’s the best word we’ve got for what they do. The main reason they visit new places is that someone or something there has that empathy too. It’s like, it’s like they connect from afar, like they can feel the people who feel like they do, no matter where they are. It’s so amazing. I’m not gonna to call it psychic though, it’s not mind-reading or levitation. It’s just...empathy, you know, like really feeling what someone or something else feels. Whatever, the point is they go places where they can feel it, and meet people who feel like they feel. That’s why they travel.
That and cuz a lot of people are trapped like the ones here and if they feel that empathy, they seriously don’t deserve that. She knew she couldn’t say that out loud though.
Q: Getting back to your story, could you tell us what all this has to do with you?
A: That’s...that’s how they found me too, the empathy thing. I think I was maybe five? My memory of it’s kind of hazy. I remember my mother of course, and my old house, but...you know you don’t remember stuff from when you were a kid unless you saw it a lot, right?
Fuck that. I remember it perfectly. I never forgot Mom’s face. I never forgot the sofa with the thick fluffy cushions that I could curl up and fall asleep on. Never forgot the old tapestry with the glyphs on it that Mom hung on the wall by the door.
I think during that first meeting I was intimidated. Here, I wrote a short description of it for this interview since I figured you’d ask about it, let me read it to you:
There was a group of small, shadowed and masked figures who visited our home. My mother didn’t seem to be intimidated, but when I saw them, it was like there was something behind each one, a kind of light that made them seem huge and awe-inspiring to me. I know now that their projection is a part of each Zhianku, and they’re not just a big light, each one is unique. Each Zhianku has its own set of colors and patterns, only visible to the Djinn and the empathetic.
So yeah, that’s what I wrote. Did you know they can kind of talk through them? There’s this language of flashing signs and colors, sort of like body language or like when you frown or smile. I can project a simple one if I think about it, it took me like ten years to get there though, and it isn’t a natural part of my psyche. Reading them is totally natural now though.
Q: That’s fascinating. We would like to hear your story though, if you don’t mind.
A: Right, sorry sorry, I keep getting off track. So they came to visit. I was five, and my mom was having a really hard time. We grew up in Alexandria, and it’s kind of a rough place, it was before the Anunnaki arrived at least. I felt a lot, whenever the other kids picked on anyone. So they’d pick on me, of course. Plus I was really tiny for my age, always have been, probably always will be, so that was another problem. I cried a lot. Even without the other kids, I’d cry when a bird fell out of its nest, or when somebody’s cat wanted to go outside and couldn’t and I’d walk by and see it in the window. There are a lot of cats in Alexandria, I assume there still are.
There goddamn well better be. They’re supposed to like cats, right, it would be too sad otherwise she thought.
So they came to see my mother, we all had tea, and even though I was scared, they were very nice. I think they were actually extra nice because I was scared, it made them want to be nice because again, the empathy thing, they understood, they really got it. My mother saw that during the tea. She said I went and sat in the lap of the lead one, who had a mask painted with a kind of hawk or falcon on it. They offered to take me with them. Give me a good education, y’know? My mother and I didn’t want to be parted, but I think we both figured by the end of the meeting that it was a seriously good idea. They promised I’d be able to come back when I wanted, too. They’re nice. Oh they don’t usually wear the masks, that’s an in public thing, it’s just that their faces are weird for a human, kind of, like, their mouths have fangs and they don’t totally close, it’s more like locked teeth and their noses go inwards and stuff, it’s creepy for a lot of people, so masks.
So, the rest of the story. I went with the Zhianku, and we went to the other side of the galaxy. Their space is far away from the Anunnaki, they see them as kind of provincial, actually. Heh, you should probably cut that. [Editor’s note: we did not cut that]
Q: Can you tell us about what you experienced on the “other side of the galaxy”?
A: Sure. I guess, where to start? Um, so the Zhianku are worried about a sort of psychic parasite thing that’s apparently a huge problem in their neck of the woods. The way the Zhianku described it to me, they move through a slightly different layer of space a wavelength above visible light. They’re not here though, don’t worry. Where they are, what they do is they can latch onto people, or aliens, and kind of, like, puppeteer them. So that’s the Zhianku’s big problem. It’s because of the parasites that the Zhianku all train in meditation and mental discipline. It helps fend them off, plus it’s like their values or something. I think I turned out to be kind of wild for them, but they also liked that, like they think it’s cute when I’m full of energy, and I still learned how to do the controlled calm thing when I have to.
I hope those things never come here. Ugh, I don’t think the Anunnaki are up for it at all.
The places I saw the most of were the gardens they secret in the darkness between stars. Before you’re like “but how can you see the gardens if they’re dark and not near any stars?” they have these beautiful internal systems of day and night, okay? They’re just hidden from the outside so you can’t find them if you don’t know where to look. Or to give the Anunnaki answer, “Hiding unseen only hinders those who search by sight.” That one was pretty good, right?
Seriously though, the gardens between the stars are waypoints for Zhianku travel and retreats for meditation. Each one is dedicated to a different deity in the Zhianku pantheon. Their pantheon, it’s like the old Egyptian ones from Earth. It was very close to home for me honestly, pretty much equivalent to Ra, Horus, Set, Bastet, Thoth, you name it. Like, it’s not that, but it might as well be.
The gardens themselves, well, they do not limit themselves to two-dimensional gravity, so you get these amazing rooms of floating flowers! There was one, it had this huge waterfall, only it was jumping down a bunch of freestanding floating rocks, and the gardeners had lined its route with streamers of little white flowers all the way down on both sides. With the light coming through the spray, it was like a little rainbow reflecting across all of them. Oh, gosh, I miss that. I’ve tried to recreate some of the effects here. It’s nowhere near as good, but I think the impression is on the right track. Like, look over there, see how the flower bed slopes up the cliff? If you come by in the late afternoon, the setting sun will bounce off that stream and cast the flowers in purples, reds, and oranges, it’s really gorgeous.
I wonder if I’m careful if the Anunnaki would give me tech to make floating flower beds. I bet I could crib the spare parts for the Resistance too she thought, trying to make sure she didn’t grin too mischievously.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your travels? Who did you travel with, what were they like?
A: Oh, who else did I travel with? Um, well I was the only human, there were a bunch of different Zhianku, since I was mostly at different waystations. The one who was kind of personally responsible for me, she prepared my meals and read me stories, that kind of thing, her name was Kuliana. That’s not...really her name. It’s the best I can do in this language, it has the right feel and it sort of sounds like what she’d say, but you also have to imagine it with this kind of natural green tone, like the wind blowing petals of fresh grass on a summer day. I love her and I hope I can get in touch with her again. Through permitted channels of course. The Zhianku have a saying “the heart is no more distant than the nearest thought.” I think it’s very beautiful, and it’s like we’re always connected when we think of one another.
We’re going to be a lot more connected soon. I’ll get a line back out there. It’s just a matter of time and patience. Almost wish I could tell them that, I bet they’d hardcore panic. Probably arrest me though she thought, almost wistfully.
Besides her, there was Niknik, my miniature space whale. The Zhianku keep them as pets in little tanks, or they can swim in the gardens. I released Niknik in a station before I came back here, I think she wouldn’t do well on earth, it’s a bit big for a miniature space whale, and the gravity is a tad strong for them.
Q: Aww, that sounds very cute. Maybe we’ll find a way to bring one here. What brought you back then? It must have been hard to leave your friends.
Yeah it was. I...sorry the question is what brought me back to Earth? Well, it’s been over a decade, so I think I was homesick. Plus Earth is changing a lot and I wanted to be involved. That’s...I mean I get to garden here, too, and share those skills I learned, as well as the wisdom I learned while I was far away. I hope that people come and visit me, and that I’ll also have the chance to travel and share my skills with others. That’s um...that’s pretty much it really. Yeah, that’s the only reason. Well, I suppose I do want to make some friends here as well, I get many visitors and my master is quite pleased with my work on the estate, so I plan to start entertaining for tea more often.
Anyway that’s me. I hope your steps are bathed in radiance and your heart sits light as you wander. *bows*
Recording ends
Private journal entry, day of the seventh spring blossom
I hope I did okay with the reporter today. I think I said a couple things that might get me in trouble. I hope they won’t be mad that I called the Anunnaki provincial, even though I didn’t say it was what I thought.
I got a little nervous when they asked why I came back, too. I hope nobody notices, or they just cut that part. Probably just trying to end on a good note and getting a little tangled up, right? Hehe. Not like I could be like “the Anunnaki are ruining my homeworld!” on their Sunday podcast. I wonder where my Mom is now. I need to find her. I’m kind of afraid to visit what’s left of Alexandria though, they’re ruining all the cities. Ah, crud, I hope talking about it as Alexandria was okay, they won’t be mad about me talking about my own memories right? Ah you know what, screw it. I did good today, they’ll love it. And anyway, nothing I said could make them nearly as mad as the power plant we’re about to blow a hole into for the rescue op. This is gonna be good, I think one of my new friends claimed she can get in and out even faster than I can. But we’ll just see about that!
*Light glimmering sound as a rift portal opens and the sound of a cloak fluttering to the ground*
Alright, later journal, wish me luck!
Interviewer: Riba of the Ab-Ishtari
Subject: Anathet the monk (Anat for short)
Planned story: “How to garden properly, the Zhianku way!”
Proposed run: “Sunday podcast: how to make your home beautiful and please your masters.”
Q: So, your work has been the talk of Halcyon, and the rumors are that you’ve been outside the bounds of Earth! Tell us a little about yourself, where did you come from? What makes you special?
A: Well, honestly, I don’t think I was ever normal. I mean, I suppose I was a normal baby, maybe? But my mother used to say that I looked at her right after I was born and it was like I was looking right through her. She told me I laughed when she first held me, but she knew it wasn’t her smile. It was like...like I could see something dancing just beyond her and it was welcoming me to Earth too. None of the Zhianku have ever told me if anyone was there, but I suppose it’s possible, y’know? Ah sorry, sorry, The Anunnaki keep telling me I’m supposed to be more formal when I’m doing storytelling, I should practice. So, one supposes that it is possible, such things are anyone’s guess. Recreating the distant past is like trying to draw yesterday’s raindrops on today’s dry rocks.
There, totally nailed it. I rock and am the best, thank you.
Q: You mentioned the Zhianku. Can you tell us about them?
A: Ah right, it was the Zhianku who took me. They don’t come here often. They’re not really... friends with the Anunnaki, and, well, there aren’t a ton of them on this half of the galaxy anyway.
Mostly because they don’t want to be, the Anunnaki are so crude she thought to herself.
When they come, they’re stealth. Like, they don’t have huge war ships, but the eclipse blades and the civilian eclipse...uh haven I guess? (Look that’s the best I can do in translation, the original word is like “garden contained within four walls”) can move through most places totally undetected! It’s really cool, you’ll never know they’re right under your nose as long as they’re not shooting at anything or trying to talk to you.
Wish they were here now she thought. I’d love to talk to them. Maybe I can find a way to do that.
They’re an empathetic people. I’m gonna use that word a lot, empathetic, it’s the best word we’ve got for what they do. The main reason they visit new places is that someone or something there has that empathy too. It’s like, it’s like they connect from afar, like they can feel the people who feel like they do, no matter where they are. It’s so amazing. I’m not gonna to call it psychic though, it’s not mind-reading or levitation. It’s just...empathy, you know, like really feeling what someone or something else feels. Whatever, the point is they go places where they can feel it, and meet people who feel like they feel. That’s why they travel.
That and cuz a lot of people are trapped like the ones here and if they feel that empathy, they seriously don’t deserve that. She knew she couldn’t say that out loud though.
Q: Getting back to your story, could you tell us what all this has to do with you?
A: That’s...that’s how they found me too, the empathy thing. I think I was maybe five? My memory of it’s kind of hazy. I remember my mother of course, and my old house, but...you know you don’t remember stuff from when you were a kid unless you saw it a lot, right?
Fuck that. I remember it perfectly. I never forgot Mom’s face. I never forgot the sofa with the thick fluffy cushions that I could curl up and fall asleep on. Never forgot the old tapestry with the glyphs on it that Mom hung on the wall by the door.
I think during that first meeting I was intimidated. Here, I wrote a short description of it for this interview since I figured you’d ask about it, let me read it to you:
There was a group of small, shadowed and masked figures who visited our home. My mother didn’t seem to be intimidated, but when I saw them, it was like there was something behind each one, a kind of light that made them seem huge and awe-inspiring to me. I know now that their projection is a part of each Zhianku, and they’re not just a big light, each one is unique. Each Zhianku has its own set of colors and patterns, only visible to the Djinn and the empathetic.
So yeah, that’s what I wrote. Did you know they can kind of talk through them? There’s this language of flashing signs and colors, sort of like body language or like when you frown or smile. I can project a simple one if I think about it, it took me like ten years to get there though, and it isn’t a natural part of my psyche. Reading them is totally natural now though.
Q: That’s fascinating. We would like to hear your story though, if you don’t mind.
A: Right, sorry sorry, I keep getting off track. So they came to visit. I was five, and my mom was having a really hard time. We grew up in Alexandria, and it’s kind of a rough place, it was before the Anunnaki arrived at least. I felt a lot, whenever the other kids picked on anyone. So they’d pick on me, of course. Plus I was really tiny for my age, always have been, probably always will be, so that was another problem. I cried a lot. Even without the other kids, I’d cry when a bird fell out of its nest, or when somebody’s cat wanted to go outside and couldn’t and I’d walk by and see it in the window. There are a lot of cats in Alexandria, I assume there still are.
There goddamn well better be. They’re supposed to like cats, right, it would be too sad otherwise she thought.
So they came to see my mother, we all had tea, and even though I was scared, they were very nice. I think they were actually extra nice because I was scared, it made them want to be nice because again, the empathy thing, they understood, they really got it. My mother saw that during the tea. She said I went and sat in the lap of the lead one, who had a mask painted with a kind of hawk or falcon on it. They offered to take me with them. Give me a good education, y’know? My mother and I didn’t want to be parted, but I think we both figured by the end of the meeting that it was a seriously good idea. They promised I’d be able to come back when I wanted, too. They’re nice. Oh they don’t usually wear the masks, that’s an in public thing, it’s just that their faces are weird for a human, kind of, like, their mouths have fangs and they don’t totally close, it’s more like locked teeth and their noses go inwards and stuff, it’s creepy for a lot of people, so masks.
So, the rest of the story. I went with the Zhianku, and we went to the other side of the galaxy. Their space is far away from the Anunnaki, they see them as kind of provincial, actually. Heh, you should probably cut that. [Editor’s note: we did not cut that]
Q: Can you tell us about what you experienced on the “other side of the galaxy”?
A: Sure. I guess, where to start? Um, so the Zhianku are worried about a sort of psychic parasite thing that’s apparently a huge problem in their neck of the woods. The way the Zhianku described it to me, they move through a slightly different layer of space a wavelength above visible light. They’re not here though, don’t worry. Where they are, what they do is they can latch onto people, or aliens, and kind of, like, puppeteer them. So that’s the Zhianku’s big problem. It’s because of the parasites that the Zhianku all train in meditation and mental discipline. It helps fend them off, plus it’s like their values or something. I think I turned out to be kind of wild for them, but they also liked that, like they think it’s cute when I’m full of energy, and I still learned how to do the controlled calm thing when I have to.
I hope those things never come here. Ugh, I don’t think the Anunnaki are up for it at all.
The places I saw the most of were the gardens they secret in the darkness between stars. Before you’re like “but how can you see the gardens if they’re dark and not near any stars?” they have these beautiful internal systems of day and night, okay? They’re just hidden from the outside so you can’t find them if you don’t know where to look. Or to give the Anunnaki answer, “Hiding unseen only hinders those who search by sight.” That one was pretty good, right?
Seriously though, the gardens between the stars are waypoints for Zhianku travel and retreats for meditation. Each one is dedicated to a different deity in the Zhianku pantheon. Their pantheon, it’s like the old Egyptian ones from Earth. It was very close to home for me honestly, pretty much equivalent to Ra, Horus, Set, Bastet, Thoth, you name it. Like, it’s not that, but it might as well be.
The gardens themselves, well, they do not limit themselves to two-dimensional gravity, so you get these amazing rooms of floating flowers! There was one, it had this huge waterfall, only it was jumping down a bunch of freestanding floating rocks, and the gardeners had lined its route with streamers of little white flowers all the way down on both sides. With the light coming through the spray, it was like a little rainbow reflecting across all of them. Oh, gosh, I miss that. I’ve tried to recreate some of the effects here. It’s nowhere near as good, but I think the impression is on the right track. Like, look over there, see how the flower bed slopes up the cliff? If you come by in the late afternoon, the setting sun will bounce off that stream and cast the flowers in purples, reds, and oranges, it’s really gorgeous.
I wonder if I’m careful if the Anunnaki would give me tech to make floating flower beds. I bet I could crib the spare parts for the Resistance too she thought, trying to make sure she didn’t grin too mischievously.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your travels? Who did you travel with, what were they like?
A: Oh, who else did I travel with? Um, well I was the only human, there were a bunch of different Zhianku, since I was mostly at different waystations. The one who was kind of personally responsible for me, she prepared my meals and read me stories, that kind of thing, her name was Kuliana. That’s not...really her name. It’s the best I can do in this language, it has the right feel and it sort of sounds like what she’d say, but you also have to imagine it with this kind of natural green tone, like the wind blowing petals of fresh grass on a summer day. I love her and I hope I can get in touch with her again. Through permitted channels of course. The Zhianku have a saying “the heart is no more distant than the nearest thought.” I think it’s very beautiful, and it’s like we’re always connected when we think of one another.
We’re going to be a lot more connected soon. I’ll get a line back out there. It’s just a matter of time and patience. Almost wish I could tell them that, I bet they’d hardcore panic. Probably arrest me though she thought, almost wistfully.
Besides her, there was Niknik, my miniature space whale. The Zhianku keep them as pets in little tanks, or they can swim in the gardens. I released Niknik in a station before I came back here, I think she wouldn’t do well on earth, it’s a bit big for a miniature space whale, and the gravity is a tad strong for them.
Q: Aww, that sounds very cute. Maybe we’ll find a way to bring one here. What brought you back then? It must have been hard to leave your friends.
Yeah it was. I...sorry the question is what brought me back to Earth? Well, it’s been over a decade, so I think I was homesick. Plus Earth is changing a lot and I wanted to be involved. That’s...I mean I get to garden here, too, and share those skills I learned, as well as the wisdom I learned while I was far away. I hope that people come and visit me, and that I’ll also have the chance to travel and share my skills with others. That’s um...that’s pretty much it really. Yeah, that’s the only reason. Well, I suppose I do want to make some friends here as well, I get many visitors and my master is quite pleased with my work on the estate, so I plan to start entertaining for tea more often.
Anyway that’s me. I hope your steps are bathed in radiance and your heart sits light as you wander. *bows*
Recording ends
Private journal entry, day of the seventh spring blossom
I hope I did okay with the reporter today. I think I said a couple things that might get me in trouble. I hope they won’t be mad that I called the Anunnaki provincial, even though I didn’t say it was what I thought.
I got a little nervous when they asked why I came back, too. I hope nobody notices, or they just cut that part. Probably just trying to end on a good note and getting a little tangled up, right? Hehe. Not like I could be like “the Anunnaki are ruining my homeworld!” on their Sunday podcast. I wonder where my Mom is now. I need to find her. I’m kind of afraid to visit what’s left of Alexandria though, they’re ruining all the cities. Ah, crud, I hope talking about it as Alexandria was okay, they won’t be mad about me talking about my own memories right? Ah you know what, screw it. I did good today, they’ll love it. And anyway, nothing I said could make them nearly as mad as the power plant we’re about to blow a hole into for the rescue op. This is gonna be good, I think one of my new friends claimed she can get in and out even faster than I can. But we’ll just see about that!
*Light glimmering sound as a rift portal opens and the sound of a cloak fluttering to the ground*
Alright, later journal, wish me luck!
Hero name, role, and outfit
When she’s acting at night, Anat has taken on the role of the goddess Set. Although Set is traditionally a male deity, she’s adopted herself as an avatar of his mixed role of guardian, outsider, and trickster and reimagined him in the context of her culture and the Anunnaki world.
Her hair, kept up in a bun during the day, is let down to her shoulders. She drapes a circlet headdress atop it with an image of a hissing cobra at the exact center. Trailing from the back half starting at each ear are thin strands of gold set with tiny gems (emeralds, rubies, sapphires) that dangle down to the base of her hair. Drawn on each cheek in black ink is a different animal of Set’s composite: a hieroglyph of a crocodile on one and a hippo on the other. Most resplendent are her shoulders and upper chest, which are covered with a mantle of shining gold and a fringe of royal blue linen. The gold is inset with narrow bands of lapis that form rings of color around her neck and upper chest. Below the mantle, she wears a tight wrap of cotton covering her chest and most of her stomach and lower back, though some of the back remains bare. The wrap is bound below her chest by two interlocked gold rings. Her arms below the mantle are also bare, though covered with a series of beaded lapis bracelets that act as her blaster and thick gold bands about the wrists. Her skirt is a series of bright fabrics: a base of white linen with diagonal swirls running through it of that same lapis blue, emerald green, and ruby red one after another winding from the end of the skirt just below her knees up to the waist. A pair of gold bands that open at the back entwine her lower legs, and on her feet are a pair of soft, white-fabric sandals with threads of gold that wrap up the foot.
This contrasts with her daytime outfit, which consists of long, baggy robes in various shades of gray or dark blue, a monk’s wooden sandals, a typically light gray veil, and a wide-brim straw hat that covers her eyes unless one intentionally bends down to see her face. She does wear some jewelry beneath these robes, occasionally visible when she pours tea or tends her plants, but it’s usually just one or two small bracelets and a lapis necklace.
Anat aids the resistance in both her roles. During the daytime, her garden and teahouse serves as an opportunity for guests who might not otherwise meet to chat over a shared admiration of nature and to use the opportunity to pass messages in code. At night in her role of Set, she is the protector of the weak and the outsider, those who are oppressed by Anunnaki society. She can appear practically anywhere with her portals and she particularly delights in freeing slaves. She has much sympathy for the cult of Dumuzid, though she hasn’t personally met any of their members yet. She also seems to have a special bond with the machines, djinn, and spirits of the Anunnaki, and she occasionally seems to communicate with them.
Her hair, kept up in a bun during the day, is let down to her shoulders. She drapes a circlet headdress atop it with an image of a hissing cobra at the exact center. Trailing from the back half starting at each ear are thin strands of gold set with tiny gems (emeralds, rubies, sapphires) that dangle down to the base of her hair. Drawn on each cheek in black ink is a different animal of Set’s composite: a hieroglyph of a crocodile on one and a hippo on the other. Most resplendent are her shoulders and upper chest, which are covered with a mantle of shining gold and a fringe of royal blue linen. The gold is inset with narrow bands of lapis that form rings of color around her neck and upper chest. Below the mantle, she wears a tight wrap of cotton covering her chest and most of her stomach and lower back, though some of the back remains bare. The wrap is bound below her chest by two interlocked gold rings. Her arms below the mantle are also bare, though covered with a series of beaded lapis bracelets that act as her blaster and thick gold bands about the wrists. Her skirt is a series of bright fabrics: a base of white linen with diagonal swirls running through it of that same lapis blue, emerald green, and ruby red one after another winding from the end of the skirt just below her knees up to the waist. A pair of gold bands that open at the back entwine her lower legs, and on her feet are a pair of soft, white-fabric sandals with threads of gold that wrap up the foot.
This contrasts with her daytime outfit, which consists of long, baggy robes in various shades of gray or dark blue, a monk’s wooden sandals, a typically light gray veil, and a wide-brim straw hat that covers her eyes unless one intentionally bends down to see her face. She does wear some jewelry beneath these robes, occasionally visible when she pours tea or tends her plants, but it’s usually just one or two small bracelets and a lapis necklace.
Anat aids the resistance in both her roles. During the daytime, her garden and teahouse serves as an opportunity for guests who might not otherwise meet to chat over a shared admiration of nature and to use the opportunity to pass messages in code. At night in her role of Set, she is the protector of the weak and the outsider, those who are oppressed by Anunnaki society. She can appear practically anywhere with her portals and she particularly delights in freeing slaves. She has much sympathy for the cult of Dumuzid, though she hasn’t personally met any of their members yet. She also seems to have a special bond with the machines, djinn, and spirits of the Anunnaki, and she occasionally seems to communicate with them.
Anathet (Anat) of the Zhianku
The Nomad
Look
-Woman
-Middle Eastern, medium hair hanging just above the shoulders, usually loose
-Compact body, very very short
-Monk’s clothing (by day) bright dyed linens and lots of skin at night
-Eccentric jewelry
Abilities
Assortment of experiences and alien technology. The two most important toys (both taking the form of jewelry) are
-Rift Generators (which allow for teleporting myself and others)
-Modular Blaster (various energy settings, repeat fire or big charge explosive shots)
Labels
Danger +1
Freak +2
Savior -2
Superior +3
Mundane -1
Conditions
[ ]Afraid (-2 to directly engage a threat)
[X]Angry (-2 to comfort or support or pierce the mask)
[ ]Guilty (-2 to provoke someone or assess the situation)
[ ]Hopeless (-2 to unleash your powers)
[X]Insecure (-2 to defend someone or reject others’ influence)
Relationships
Marianne knows plenty that I don’t about this world, its people, and how to deal with
them; I should follow their lead while I’m here.
Canada is...well...boring. But that’s okay! I’m going to make them more interesting.
Influence
I have influence over
Marianne
Canada
People who have influence over me
Marianne
Black-eyed Girl named Tia
Canada
Special influence rules (Putting down roots)
• Adults do not have Influence over you by
default. No one does.
• You can only give a total of 6 Influence.
• During play, you can only give Influence by
revealing a vulnerability or weakness to
someone. You can still give out Influence
through the end of session move. You cannot
give Influence to somebody who already has
Influence over you.
• Others cannot take Influence over you;
if they would, instead they choose: mark
potential or inflict a condition on you.
• You reject Influence at -2 by default,
instead of +0.
• When someone takes advantage of their
Influence over you, they can choose two
options.
• At the end of a session, you can take back
1 Influence from someone you choose.
• If you have given out 0-Influence, you
cannot comfort or support anyone. If you
would trigger that move, instead mark
a condition as you say exactly the wrong
thing. If you have given out 0-Influence and
someone tries to comfort or support you,
you cannot open up to them.
• You gain benefits based on how much
Influence you have given out. See below.
These benefits stack.
[ ]1-2 Influence: When you defend someone who has Influence over you, you can ignore the Insecure condition.
When you directly engage someone who has Influence over you, you can ignore the Afraid condition.
[X]3 Influence: When you take a powerful blow from someone with Influence over you, take -2 to the roll.
[ ]4 Influence: When you pierce the mask of someone who has Influence over you, you can always ask them
one question, even on a miss.
[ ]5 Influence: When you spend a Team to help someone who has Influence over you, it gives them +2.
[ ]6 Influence: When you accept the words of someone who has Influence over you, mark potential, clear a
condition, or take +1 forward.
default. No one does.
• You can only give a total of 6 Influence.
• During play, you can only give Influence by
revealing a vulnerability or weakness to
someone. You can still give out Influence
through the end of session move. You cannot
give Influence to somebody who already has
Influence over you.
• Others cannot take Influence over you;
if they would, instead they choose: mark
potential or inflict a condition on you.
• You reject Influence at -2 by default,
instead of +0.
• When someone takes advantage of their
Influence over you, they can choose two
options.
• At the end of a session, you can take back
1 Influence from someone you choose.
• If you have given out 0-Influence, you
cannot comfort or support anyone. If you
would trigger that move, instead mark
a condition as you say exactly the wrong
thing. If you have given out 0-Influence and
someone tries to comfort or support you,
you cannot open up to them.
• You gain benefits based on how much
Influence you have given out. See below.
These benefits stack.
[ ]1-2 Influence: When you defend someone who has Influence over you, you can ignore the Insecure condition.
When you directly engage someone who has Influence over you, you can ignore the Afraid condition.
[X]3 Influence: When you take a powerful blow from someone with Influence over you, take -2 to the roll.
[ ]4 Influence: When you pierce the mask of someone who has Influence over you, you can always ask them
one question, even on a miss.
[ ]5 Influence: When you spend a Team to help someone who has Influence over you, it gives them +2.
[ ]6 Influence: When you accept the words of someone who has Influence over you, mark potential, clear a
condition, or take +1 forward.
Moves
The littlest space bandit
When you directly
engage a threat that underestimates you, roll
+ Superior instead of + Danger.
engage a threat that underestimates you, roll
+ Superior instead of + Danger.
Out of this world
When you plug into the cosmic
aether and tune out of this world, roll + Freak. On
a hit, you come to a new, interesting insight about
your current problems and situation; the GM
will tell you what. On a 10+, you can also shift
your own Labels according to match your new
understanding. On a miss, you realize something
dangerous or terrible; the GM will tell you what,
and shift your Labels accordingly.
aether and tune out of this world, roll + Freak. On
a hit, you come to a new, interesting insight about
your current problems and situation; the GM
will tell you what. On a 10+, you can also shift
your own Labels according to match your new
understanding. On a miss, you realize something
dangerous or terrible; the GM will tell you what,
and shift your Labels accordingly.
Watched C-beams Glitter
When you make a claim about a strange situation or phenomenon based on your experience, roll + Freak. On a hit, you were right; the GM will tell you what opportunity your knowledge grants to you. On a 7-9, your claim is incomplete, flawed, or tangential; the GM will tell you how. On a miss, your experiences are incomplete; the GM will tell you what mistake your flawed understanding leads you to make.
Team moves
When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, ask them what they admire about you.
The GM will shift one of your Labels up and one down based on what they say.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, mark a condition, give them Influence over you, and mark potential
Potential
[X][ ][ ][ ][ ]
Moment of Truth
Locked
Advancement
[ ]Take another move from your playbook
[X]Take another move from your playbook
[ ]Take another move from your playbook
[ ]Take a move from another playbook
[ ]Take a move from another playbook
[ ]Unlock your Moment of Truth
[ ]Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add
+1 to a Label
[ ]Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add
+1 to a Label
[X]Take another move from your playbook
[ ]Take another move from your playbook
[ ]Take a move from another playbook
[ ]Take a move from another playbook
[ ]Unlock your Moment of Truth
[ ]Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add
+1 to a Label
[ ]Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add
+1 to a Label
