Rykars descend from Basilisk, the youngest god of the Triad. From father to son they inherit the rykar burden: the power of Basilisk’s roar. Depending on its innate strength and degree of cultivation, the roar can inflict or arrest various kinds of harm: impact, fire, or force. Most rykars devote their lives to developing vocal power, heroic sports, drinking, and military service, usually in swarm cavalry and armoured spirit regiments. These serving rykars form the majority and are known as swarm rykars. They are divided into vocal orders and kinds: rankers, bellowers, sorrows, basses, whistledancers, gut-voices, chanters, shameless ones, death-near ones, poets, and other, rarer kinds.
There are also spirit-rykars, a very rare kind. They alone can drive the spirit-engines of arks and walking cities. They live by their own peculiar rules and study in the forest monasteries of Sevir. Only the burden of Basilisk’s blood unites them with other rykars.
The third order consists of white rykars, members of ancient princely and royal lines. Unlike swarm and spirit rykars, from childhood they suppress their rykar burden rather than develop it, treating it with nettle water. This allows them to lead relatively quiet, peaceful lives and stand almost on equal terms with lyudichi in pursuits that demand a cool head and sober mind, rather than rykar strain and fury.
