Embedded Files
June 2026
Trivia of the Month
There are five different people groups that compose the nation of Wistania: Taliv, Bwolotil, Nati, Katapu, and Uzin. Each of the people groups send two representatives to the "High Council," a group of ten total individuals who ensure that the conditions of the Wistanian Treaty are followed.
Word of the Month
hunami [ˈhɯn̻əmɪ] mass n. // music. Wistanian music is heavily rhythmic, featuring a wide variety of percussion instruments, flutes, and unique vocalizations.
Flora and Fauna of the Month
gadu - a small purple-petalled flower that grows in bunches and can often be found beside river banks. They supposedly have medicinal properties that can relieve fever and high temperature when ground into a mixture with water and syrup. Additionally, they can be used to attract insects away from roads and swimming holes.
nubi - a nocturnal insect with a loud mating call, similar to a cricket. They are often trapped, roasted, and eaten as food, especially among poorer communities. They can be ground into a type of flour used in several staple Wistanian foods, added to salads, soups, and fritters, or eaten whole as a snack.
Note from the Author
I’m afraid there’s not much to say in terms of novel updates. I recently bought a new computer, so I’m learning a new OS. I also had to get some emergency dental work done, so my mouth feels weird. (Guess which of the two was more expensive!) I guess that’s not a sufficient excuse because plenty of busy, confused authors with appointments to attend are still able to make the time to write, but just know that Ggudi and the Second Strike is currently sitting, quietly waiting with great impatience for me to finally finish fixing it.
If it weren’t for this webzine, I might not have written at all this month.
Nothing to worry about, though. June is here, and I can feel the winds changing in my direction. I believe it!
~ Page
~~~
CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT:
Minil
/mih-NEEL/
Nationality: Nati Wistanian
Appearances: Ggudi and the Second Strike
“He keeps fiddling with his staff. Look, he’s holding it too lightly, treating it like a toy rather than a weapon. He’ll probably drop it. Watch.” - from Ggudi and the Second Strike
“I got that before I started school here. When I was a kid, I had apparently said or done something to offend another boy four years and two months older than I was. He tried to start an argument with me, I ignored him, he escalated, I turned away. Then he pushed me to the ground and I landed on my shoulder on a garden hoe.
“I bled a lot, and the bully pretended like he was sorry. I say ‘pretended’ because he never admitted to the adults that he pushed me. He said I tripped. Anyway, for months I couldn’t move my right shoulder or arm or hand. I had to do everything with my non-dominant left hand. During that time, I was reading about Yabba martial arts and the philosophy of Jaaha. I believed that if I had a better body, I could have fought back. A better mind, I could have persuaded him to stop. A better soul, I could have even become friends with him.
“But now that I’ve grown older I realize he just wanted a dumb, fat kid to bully and there wasn’t anything I could do at the time to change that. I’m sorry for him, to be honest. I don’t believe that’s the perfect state of a man, to be violent and crass without reason. It takes a lot of work to let go of all that stuff.”
Minil bent down to pick up another practice staff. It was an important part of his daily routine to clean up after the other students. They would trash the practice field and almost never put their things away, but it allowed Minil some time to relax and think.
“What does ‘crass’ mean?” Ggudi asked. He was the new first-year, and he liked to spend time with Minil for reasons that Minil couldn’t quite understand. He was a strange kid who wore his long sleeves and long pants even in the sun, but he was friendly.
“It means that you have no manners and don’t care about what the people around you feel. In my opinion, it’s one of the greatest flaws a human can have.”
“What happened to him?”
“Last year he died of sepsis.”
“Oh…”
“Remember, young Ggudi, you can turn your fat into muscle, your ignorance into mastery, and your anxiety into hope… but you can’t change another person.”
“Yeah you can.” Ggudi said this quickly, as if it were a matter of fact. Without staring Minil down or raising his voice, he argued with a smile, “You’ve changed me a lot. For the good.”
Minil thought about those words. His first instinct was to disagree, but he waited for his second thought to materialize before he made a final conclusion. “Thank you.”
MYTHIC SPOTLIGHT:
Iddaru, Ajma of Rage
/ih-TAH-roh/
Wistanian Ajma
Generation: Ancient
"Your charges have been sufficiently read to you. Repent or behold your doom, sinner."
The Spiritual Realm operates under a stringent law, written by the sixth Ancient and draped around her body as she judges and punishes those who engage in anarchy. Iddaru, Ajma of Rage, is the Chief Lawmaker and Final Judge. She presides over the High Court with six other members of the Justice Council who deliberate and debate matters related to right and wrong. Regardless of the Council’s judgment, however, Iddaru has the final say and highest authority in the Court. If the Justice Council unanimously decides a defendant is innocent, she may still choose to enact her punishment.
According to Wistanian belief, Iddaru’s wrath and power are still evident today in the presence of lightning and thunder. Long, violent lightning storms are warnings that a great injustice has been occurring in that area. However, every attempt to “read” her flashing symbols to identify those crimes and those responsible rarely succeed. Nonetheless, mindful Wistanians remain vigilant and aware, so once the evildoer is found out, they may punish them with the iddaru imi: “Fire of Iddaru.”
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse