Over the last few days I’ve been distracted by the curious goings-on of the public as they wade through my thoughts. It was enough to give me pause, halting my anthropological studies in the Third Age as well as my work on Luminesce. I’m not used to having everything I write scrutinized and analysed. I suppose I should not stifle the energetic curiosity of those such as “Abjab” and others. Curiosity is what led me to this place, and I have no right to deny others that same Journey.

Today however, I’ve forced myself to turn my eyes back towards the Third Age. As I entered the punishing sunlight, I wondered if this Age ever rains or has foul weather. If it does, I have yet to witness it.

I’ve begun watching the Tracker caste. I still find it amazing how different each group looks from each other. The trackers are very lithe in comparison with the other castes. They have disproportionately long arms, and seem to favour almost a four-legged gait similar to gorillas over a more bi-pedal one.

In fact, that seems a very apt parallel! They show similar behavior in some ways. They enjoy climbing and hanging from trees, huts etc. In fact I believe I’ve seen them perched upon a boulder or rooftop more often than I’ve seen them on the ground. They seem much more intelligent than the Warriors, and a great deal more playful. Each tracker has a long dark cloth wrapped around their neck, perhaps a sign of their position. Such decoration seems unecessary to me as they are so physically unique! The trackers seem to enjoy stealing each other’s cloths and hiding them or keeping them away from the victim for as long as possible. Such behavior demonstrates an impressive amount of social and cognitive aptitude.

This caste is undoubtedly responsible for scouting and/or tracking prey. Each member carries a long spear or javelin ornamented with a thin, similarly coloured cloth at the end. Perhaps it is used for marking terrain, or even large animals which the Warriors will then attack?

Just the existance of such a specialised group of beings puts me on edge, but I’ve spent a great deal of time in survival classes, and I have been putting large effort into keeping myself concealed.

I’m constantly amazed how well the castes interact with each other. I would have assumed the Warriors would be annoyed by the impish antics of the Trackers, but each caste shows the other great respect when they pass. There seems to be no friction between them! Humanity could learn a lesson from these creatures.