For the Ai-Naidar, caste and tradition are not the shackles that imprison the spirit but the silences that make sense of the music of their lives. The Aphorisms of Kherishdar collects 25 short tales about what it is to have an Ai-Naidari soul: to find comfort in tradition, law and structure; to revere interdependence over individualism; to know one's place... to always have one. Illustrated.

In Kherishdar, when a person commits a crime, they become their sin.... Suicide. Rape. Child Abuse. Addiction. Twenty-five crimes. Twenty-five stories. Twenty-five narrators... and one minister over them all, to judge, convict and Correct the faulty: the priest who serves Shame. This companion volume to The Aphorisms of Kherishdar explores the wayward and their journey back to society, offering another glimpse into the Ai-Naidari culture. A darker, more difficult glimpse—Without Shame, there is no Civilization. Note: contains content some may find disturbing.

The high priest of Shame in Kherishdar is shattering— —and the only thing between him and his ruin is the gentle Calligrapher, Farren Nai'Sheviet-osulkedi. When they are dispatched by the god of Civilization to Qenain, the House of Flowers, they find it in disorder, having fallen prey to a mysterious influence... an alien influence... a human one. Can one man heal Shame in time to save him and Qenain both? Or will they both fail? And what will happen in—and to—the House of Flowers? A genteel, conversational fantasy of society, culture... and the perversions that threaten them. Volume 3 of the Books of Kherishdar (following The Aphorisms of Kherishdar and The Admonishments of Kherishdar).

In all Kherishdar there is one man with no choices... and one woman with them all. When alien taint destroyed her former House, Haraa nai'Qevellen-osulkedi was raised out of casteless despair to translate human languages for the god of Civilization, the Ai-Naidari Emperor. At first her curiosity and intelligence serve her well, but the longer she spends among aliens, the more questions she has about her world. How did Kherishdar come about? Why is the Emperor singular, and the priest who serves Shame? Why does Kherishdar need an Exception, and why is it always a woman, and why does she annoy Haraa so badly? Kherishdar's Exception is a coming-of-age story set in a world where everyone has a place. But among the Ai-Naidar, you don't get to choose that place. Unless.... The fourth installment in the Books of Kherishdar returns us to the mannered world of the Ai-Naidar, and builds on everything we've learned in the first three. The author recommends reading in order for full immersion: 1. The Aphorisms of Kherishdar 2. The Admonishments of Kherishdar 3. Black Blossom 4. Kherishdar's Exception

Return to Kherishdar in this second volume of "backstage" interactions between the author and her creations! In the first volume, we got to know the principal characters that made the setting clearer to the audience... this time, we ease deeper into the worldbuilding, covering language and locations, culture and customs, biology, psychology, and history.Further Conversations with the Ai-Naidar gathers the next six years of "meta-conversations" between the author and her aliens as she continues to illuminate the world of Kherishdar. Lavishly illustrated with notes, calligraphy, photographs and drawings, Conversations offers insight into an artistic process, perfect for lovers of the Kherishdar series, and anyone fascinated by the creative brain.Come into the writer's parlor!

Language and locations, culture and customs, biology, psychology, and history... worldbuilding an alien world for a fiction series can be a monumental effort involving notes, maps, drawings, and resources.....or you can do it Jaguar-style, and just talk to the people.Conversations with the Ai-Naidar gathers seven years of "meta-conversations" between the author and her aliens as she struggles to understand their culture and language. Interspersed with scribbled notes from the author's original sketchbooks, Conversations offers insight into an artistic process, perfect for lovers of the Kherishdar series, and anyone fascinated by the creative brain.Come into the writer's parlor!