Children of the Planet

Nine of the Ten Children of the Planet. From left to right : Chokhmah, Tipheret, Chesed, Hod, Yesod, Netzach, Geburah, Binah and Keter.

The ten Children of the Planet (星の民, Hoshi no Tami, lit. "People of the Planet") are characters from Chapter 5 of The Epic of Zektbach.

Story

Created and living on Turii Island, the Children of the Planet were the force by which the balance of Aria Te'laria was preserved, serving as an embodiment of memeless nature. Although all were biologically female, they were entirely genderless, as the concept of gender did not arise in the absence of sexual variation. They were also nearly mute; the only word they would naturally utter was "Milia", which to them conveyed fellowship - they were "Milia" to each other, as the Turii tree was "Milia" to them all. They were isolated from the world and knew no emotions.

At any given time, there were only ten children on the island. They would keep track of the passage of time by counting the sunrise, and mark their age in years by painting rings in the color of their hair on their wrists, ankles and thighs. Once a child reached fifteen years of age (in other words, every year and a half, or once every five hundred and forty seven days), they would drown themselves on purpose, in a ceremony termed the Panta Rhei. They would reincarnate after their death, and the cycle would repeat.

One day, this ceremony was interrupted by Kukaru, a thief from the Sazaragi, who, believing the drowning child to be in need of help, swam to her rescue. The other children, bewildered, surrounded the intruders, attempting to drag her back into the water, and chanting in a discordant voice. Scared and confused by this display, the Sazaragi fled, taking with them the remaining child, Malchut, back to the continent of Ejeek.

The nine remaining Children behind Malchut, in Raison d'être. Note their older features.

Because Malchut's sacrifice was paramount to maintaining the order of the world, as well as to the life of all of her peers, they were found dead near a withered Turii tree shortly after her capture. However, they make a brief appearance later on, in an undefined, ghost-like form, seemingly to assist Malchut as she battles L'erisia. Remarkably, all nine of them appear to have then grown to her own age.

Description

All Children of the Planet wear white panties, and a large collar, reminiscent of the Egyptian Usekh, covers their chests. Their hair is also decorated with circular ornaments that appear to be made of colored fabric — hereafter referred to as "stripes". The oldest five of them also wear a white shawl over their shoulders.

The ages given in the following subsection can be calculated by incrementally deducting one and a half year to the known age of Malchut, the eldest child. They are confirmed by MAYA's Miika artbook.

Keter

The youngest child, at one and a half year old ; they bear a single ring around their left ankle. Their hair is short and white, decorated with light grey stripes, and their skin is light brown. Their eyes are green, but only one is visible due to a lock of hair covering the other. Their collar is white.

Chokhmah

Chokhmah

The second youngest at three years old ; they are known to be marked with three rings (presumably two on their ankles, and one on their left wrist), but only the one drawn on their left wrist is clearly visible. They have very short hair, ending over their ears, and decorated in light blue : their eyes are green, and their collar is gray with a light blue base.

Binah

Binah

They are four and a half years old, and thus wear four rings : one on each ankle, and one on each wrist. Their hair is black, as is their collar, and its stripes are white. They have green eyes.

Chesed

Being six years old, they have six rings : two on each ankle, and one on each wrist. Their hair is dark blue, as is their collar, with its stripes a slightly lighter shade. Their eyes are adorned with a thin vertical line of dark blue paint.

Geburah

Geburah

They wear seven rings (two on each ankle, two on their left wrist and one on their right wrist), and are seven and a half years old. They have red hair and stripes, and their collar is of the same color. Their cheeks are painted with three red lines.

Tipheret

Tipheret

They are nine years old, and consequently wear nine rings (three on each ankle, two on each wrist). Their hair is blonde, their stripes are yellow, and they are depicted with the extra shawl.

Netzach

Netzach

On them, ten rings are visible, representing their ten and a half years of age : two on each ankle, and three on each wrist. They have short, dark green hair with distinctly lighter stripes, and a green collar. They wear the extra shawl.

Hod

Hod

They are painted with twelve rings, corresponding to twelve years of age : three on each thigh, and three on each wrist — but notably, none on their ankles. They have orange hair, and are the only child to have black skin — whose color is in fact the same as their hair stripes. They wear the shawl.

Yesod

Yesod

The second oldest at thirteen and a half years old, they consequently bear thirteen rings : three on each wrist, one on their right thigh, three on each ankle. Their hair is of lavender color, with white stripes, and they wear the shawl.

Malchut

The eldest child, having reached the age of sacrifice : fifteen years. Her body is painted with fifteen rings (two on her right wrist, three on her left, two around each thigh, and three around each ankle). She wears the largest and thickest shawl, more akin to a small coat, and, over her black hair, painted with a white stripe, a piece of woolly headwear of white, pink and black colors.

Trivia

The Tree of Life. The Path of the Flaming Sword is highlighted in yellow.

• The Children of the Planet are named after the ten sephiroth of the Judaic Kabbalah's Tree of Life.
• Their age in ascending order, as of Melius 143 (Malchut's abduction), follows the "path of the flaming sword", which is the traditional order for the sephiroth. However, since this order is usually thought to reflect the sequence in which the sephiroth were created, it would make sense to say that, at this iteration of the cycle, the Children of the Planet are actually arranged in reverse : Keter is the youngest, while it is the first created sephirah in kabbalistic tradition, and symmetrically, Malchut, the final sephirah in creation, is the oldest.

Appear in

• Turii ~Panta Rhei~ PV
• Raison d'Être PV
• Pop'n Music (as background characters alongside A'Milia)
• The Epic of Zektbach Guidebook (p.85)