Wanuye

This is a Summer Camp 2026 article and therefore likely incomplete or otherwise under construction. You're welcome to enjoy it is as it is, of course (and thank you!), but if you're interested in updates, give Babikiye a follow!

• A Wanuye is the primary caregiver of a yashelin child, who is referred to as one's kabi, and this position is the equivalent of a human child's father, mother, or legal guardian.
• As the primary caregiver of a yashelin child, they take responsibility for loving, protecting, and guiding the child from their creation all the way into independent adulthood.
• In some cultures, a parent is legally able to wipe their hands of their child once they reach adulthood. That is not the case in Aravun Yashelin society. The load is more evenly distributed once the child reaches adulthood, but the Wanuye-Kabi relationship is a lifelong commitment.
• this is the first position that is assigned to the yashelin child upon their creation
• the position is assigned based on perceived fit with the specific child as well as the potential wanuye's aptitude and/or availability to parent a child at that moment
• the wanuye is responsible for introducing the child to yashelin society and culture, starting with their inner circle and steadily broadening the child's horizons (literally and figuratively)
• There are two other parental figures in a child's life: the elevu and the ayiru. The elevu is determined at the sole discretion of the Wanuye, while the Ayiru is chosen by agreement between Wanuye and Kabi.

Current Story Relevance

On paper, Samir does not have a Wanuye. Samir is not a yashelin, so technically these labels do not apply to him. Heyir kept Samir as a pet, not a child, at first. Heyir sang the Wanuye's Oath to Samir on his 50th birthday during an unsanctioned celebration in which Heyir also gifted Samir with a name. The oath is spiritually binding regardless of the fact that they skipped 'proper' procedure.

Samir. Of all the reasons to steal Ezeki’s power, Heyir naming their beloved Fas pet Spring should feel sentimental but instead it’s just… insulting… Galling… What a waste of…!

Samir stirs and whines, loudly compared to the stark silence of the room, “Wanuye?”

“I’m right here, baby,” Heyir replies instantly. Heyir kisses the child’s temple and shushes him soothingly, bouncing him gently in their arms until he falls back to sleep.

… Alright, that was…

Before Ezeki could feel bad, another wave of anger takes hold of it and it ends the sentence: that was perverse. That isn’t a child, that’s a Fas!