#indemnify

Thanan grant telepathic abilities that include: communication through thought, mind reading, sight through other beings/creatures, and mind control. Not every Thanan has all these powers. They’re like skills, they have to be learned. Some (like mind reading) are easier to learn than others (mind control). The more powerful the ability, the more difficult it is to master. Having direct access to the thanan fruit can make learning these abilities easier, but they can still take time to figure out. Some Thanan citizens may be assigned to specific jobs based on their control over these powers. Being able to see through the eyes of an eagle would be useful for a scout, interrogators are usually mind readers, etc.

Kwant fruit is a little different by granting telekinetic powers. Instead of the variety that the thanan fruit gives, it’s more like people with kwant abilities start more general and become more precise through training. Most can lift and manipulate objects no heavier than what they can lift themselves, but with training, a single person can lift boulders and change the direction of rivers. Another complication is whether what they’re manipulating has a will. This makes inanimate objects easier to control compared to, well, people. The stronger the will, the more difficult they are to control. However, a master of Kwant abilities have an almost threatening precision with their gift. Enough training, they could take complete control over a person, crack bones from several metres away, even stop their heart.

Bindi definitely give the most… strange abilities. Like I said in the last post, their power very much is intertwined with souls and the manipulation of them. Most people with Bindi abilities have a sort of second sight/sense that allows them to see into a person’s soul. Every right, every wrong a human does, it’s reflected in their souls and the bindi fruit can reveal that. Whenever a person is injured or has taken any sort of toll on their health, that’s reflected in their soul and thus can be healed by a person who’s able to manipulate souls. This applies to physical injuries, disease, even strong negative emotions. This also means that Bindi can do the opposite… manipulate a soul to inflict pain, curse them with sickness, make a person go mad and lose their mind. They don’t even have to be in close proximity to the soul they manipulate. Their powers are entirely dependent on their concentration and discipline. All they need is to have seen and been near a person long enough so that they can recognize their soul in the sea of life that they have access to. Depending on how far away their target is, they could kill them in just a moment…

But they don’t do that!

Aside from the amount of energy and practice it takes to get to that mastery of Bindi abilities, many have taken an oath of peace. This is largely due to their second sight giving them the knowledge that every person has the ability to be a truly kind person. As mentioned, they can see the rights and wrongs every person has done based on their souls. Only the Bindi can see that every child is born pure, every child has the opportunity to pursue a pure and kind life. It is the belief of Bindi people that it is possible to live in a truly good world, and they strive to emulate that in their own lives. Because of this, many live a passive and peaceful lifestyle. Most of them, anyway…

Now, hundreds of years before this story takes place, the maerma were discovered by the kingdoms’ ancestors, long before any monarchies took hold in their land. Each fruit, once eaten, gifts the consumer with special abilities. In this region, three maerma are found: thanan, kwant, and bindi.

Maerma, regardless of which kind, look extremely similar (think goji berries but similar in shape/size of an orange with a texture like a plum). The way people tell them apart is how they grow/where you find them. I’ll make a separate post abt the specifics of the maerma, but the basic info is that the thanan give the consumer telepathic abilities, kwant give the consumer telekinetic abilities, and bindi give the consumer… well, it’s weird. Think of their powers as being able to touch another’s soul.

The abilities can be passed down genetically (it’s a recessive gene), but not everybody in the kingdoms have these powers.

Anyway, a few decades before the story takes place, two of the kingdoms, the Thanan and Kwant kingdoms (each of which named after their distinctive native maerma) had been growing aggressive towards one another. With the threat of war becoming evident, both kingdoms attempt to win over the third kingdom, the Bindi, in hopes of turning them against the other kingdom.

Now what’s important to keep in mind is that all three of these kingdoms have specific values and codes they hold in high regard. Thanan people are those that pursue knowledge ambitiously. Intelligence is a trait that is very much favoured in their land, and while very studious, their people can sometimes be seen as snobbish. They will do whatever it takes to uncover new information and follow the pursuit of knowledge.

Kwant people are extremely in touch with the world around them. What they value the most is that their land is respected, and whatever they take from it can be given back. You could almost say they’re very down to earth (I’m sorry, that was bad). Thanks to their telekinetic abilities, many tools that other kingdoms use are not needed there. Who needs those loud Thanan shotguns and pistols when you can shoot shrapnel just as fast with only a thought? However, this can make them seem less advanced, which makes others see them as a lesser civilization.

Bindi people are the most diplomatic of the three kingdoms. They believe in maintaining peace and protecting human life. This outlook mostly comes from the abilities their maerma give them. The Thanan and Kwant have limited knowledge on the extent of their powers, but a few are known. Aside from healing that extends from physical wounds to the most deadly diseases, some also believe they can see things others cannot, giving them a perspective others do not have. Because of this, they value humanity first and foremost, many go as far as to swear off violence entirely. This can make them come off as soft, or pushovers.

Because of this principle, the Bindi refused both the Thanan and Kwant’s request to ally against each other. Thanan grew paranoid that the Bindi would eventually side with Kwant (who believed the opposite), which eventually led to both kingdoms taking action that would lead to devastation for the Bindi.

What scared both kingdoms was the mysterious nature of the Bindi. Their abilities given by their fruit gave them much more than the passive abilities they saw so often, but those secrets were unknown due to their oath for peace. Each kingdom feared the other would find a way to convince the Bindi to forget their oath, so each made plans to invade their land to force them to either join their forces or die. They couldn’t have any risk of the Bindi helping the enemy.

This eventually led to the genocide of the Bindi. Very few managed to escape, even less survived the following years.