The dragonboat race is held in honor of the river goddess Neskira, whose name is not mentioned by anyone with good sense--you don't want to attract her attention to you personally, and you certainly don't want to sound disrespectful if she does notice you: as is the tendency of river goddesses, Neskira has a somewhat chancy disposition. She is normally referred to indirectly or by a title, usually something like: "the Lady of the River," or "the Dark Lady." The races, in some form or other, have been held for centuries in this area, and in earlier times were held on other parts of the river as well. The peasants honor her, believing her responsible for the fertility of their land. In the days before the worship of Mantor achieved pre-eminence, the peasants were accustomed to sacrifice a young man to Neskira every year during the summer, believing that this would guarantee a bountiful harvest the following year. The most effective sacrifices were assumed to occur in some connection with the dragonboat races; no one admits to knowing just exactly how these sacrifices were set up. The current belief is that any death on the river during the race constitutes a sort of sacrifice to the goddess.

The boats themselves are simple in form, but they each have an elaborate figurehead which represents a mythical entity associated in some fashion with Neskira. The figureheads are assumed to have a sort of quasi-life and to manifest the personality of the entity represented; the nature of the figurehead often seems to affect the conduct of the boat during the race. Each major city along the river has at some time in the past held dragonboat races and has its own group of figureheads; only in Daiyla Kiv are the races still held on a yearly basis. Daiyla Kiv has twenty-seven figureheads, but some of them are seldom seen; others appear each year with the same sponsors.

The race course is from a weir above the city where a canal takes off, down through the city, to a landing in front of the Emperor's Palace.

The first stage is from the weir through an area of forest and small farms--wide river, muddy banks, maybe a mudbar or two, and few observers.

The second stage is through a farming area to the city wall--river still wide, but lots of small docks, private fishing boats which will probably be full of spectators during the race.

The third stage is the upper city--the river narrowing between stone walls (road embankments, houses, warehouses), plenty of small docks and boats, passing some islands where the choice of channel is up to the boats in question--some channels are shorter but shallower, etc.; what bridges there are in this section are from shore to island to shore, and are long shallow spans, not too great an impediment.

The fourth stage is where the An-Kiu and the Fatebringer join, an area known for its tricky currents.

The fifth and final stage is from the junction of the rivers to the Emperor's landing--narrow and deep with a strong current, occasionally crossed by bridges which narrow the passage still further like multiple-arch gates.

A lot of money is bet on the races, so there are often attempts to fix parts of a race--some attempts pretty inept and some very subtle. There might be attempts to suborn or drug rowers, sabotage to boats before the race, ramming or at least trying to break another boat's oars during the race, things like underwater chains across some arches of some bridges, and any other kind of dirty ticks that spring to mind. Some boats might work together, with one trying to ram a rival to let its partner get ahead.

Following is a list and description of most of the figureheads of Daiyla Kiv, and one from Miroi Chang that entered the Daiyla Kiv race.

Chan-Kin-Zo, represented as an old man with a long beard and a peculiar and antique headdress, is a vague figure in the River Myths: he may have been an ancestor of Neskira, or an advisor, or perhaps a mortal lover who aged when she did not...or possibly a sort of ambassador to her from some other god or group of gods. These days he is usually considered to be an advisor to the goddess. The boat is sponsored by the Imperial Academy and generally crewed by students; it usually does rather poorly, since the students tend to be scholarly types rather than athletes.

Delsganihar is one of the pair of immortal warriors who were rivals for the affection of Neskira; he is represented as a "peasant"--bare-headed, bearded, with a broad tanned face and a fierce grin. He wears armor made of some sort of blue-green scales. (In legend he is called the Serpent Slayer.) Whatever the intentions of the two crews, the Delsganihar, sponsored by Guntir the Sword-Healer, always seems more interested in beating the Karahali than in winning the race.

The Dornakiro has a figurehead in the form of a minotaur with a crown woven of ripened stalks of grain; his character is "slow and sure." Lokairen's image is of a satyr-like creature crowned with grape leaves; he has a reputation for impulsiveness. Zaharkan is shown as a man with a deer's antlers; he is fierce and secretive. Zanatan is represented as a man in peasant's garb, bearing a sickle and a sheaf of grain. All four are minor figures in the River Myths, sponsored and manned by groups of farmers near the city. They compete fiercely with each other; all do fairly well each year, but they seldom win because they waste their efforts on out-maneuvering each other.

The Karahali figurehead appears as a warrior of aristocratic mien, clean-shaven, gray-eyed, and wearing a helm with a golden plume. Karahali was one of the two immortal warriors who were rivals for the affection of Neskira. The Karahali always runs a clean race but seems more interested in beating the Delsganihar than in actually winning the race. The chief sponsor is the swordsmith Dirfan.

The Morilnar is said to have been another of Neskira's former or would-be lovers, probably a man she cast off, as he is credited with being hostile to her and also very jealous. The figurehead and the boat have a reputation for sly trickery and deception, and it is considered to be as dangerous to fair racing as the Sulimarin, perhaps more so.

The Narodian figurehead is named for Neskira's chief guard and protector and shown as a sort of dragon-like creature with bronze scales, alert whiskers, and eyes of blazing crystal; it is supposed to be a river "monster"; occasionally there will be rumors of such a creature having been glimpsed in the river, but no confirmed sighting has occurred in living memory and the scholars are convinced that if it ever existed, it is extinct now. The Narodian boat is always aggressive, but honorable. It is sponsored and crewed by the Imperial Army.

The Polhiran figurehead takes the form of a mermaid crowned with pearls and is said to represent a sea nymph who visited the court of Neskira to petition for something or other--probably the release of some young mortal male beloved of the nymph who had been selected as the year's sacrifice to Neskira.

The Sulimarin figurehead has a rather elven face, beautiful, pale-skinned, with golden hair swept back as by a wind and a sly, knowing expression; her robe is the color of blood. Sulimarin was considered a strife-provoker, a tale-bearer and mischief-maker in the "sacred court" of Neskira. It is normally run by an anonymous sponsor, which would be unusual for any other boat, and its performance generally is in line with the reputation of Sulimarin herself; the crew has been known--though not proven--to engage in dirty tricks of all sorts.

The Tarakana boat represents a peasant child "adopted" and made immortal by Neskira, a bit of an imp but good-hearted and generous. She is shown with a laughing face, tangled hair, and an otter-like creature perched on her shoulder. This boat is always entered by a group of local fishermen who believe that a good showing by the Tarakana, whether it actually wins or not, will mean a good year of fishing ahead.

The Tiramira represents a nymph or demigoddess who is said to be Neskira's daughter; she is depicted as a young woman with dark hair, green eyes, and a strong "come-hither" look. Tiramira is said to be willful and spoiled, playful, and perhaps a little cruel, and fiercely competitive. Her boat is sponsored by a group of madams from the pink flower district of Daiyla Kiv and crewed by young men from the city--there is much speculation as to what rewards they may have been offered for this service!

The Tolgiros boat represents a "chief councilor" in the court of Neskira, a figure of restraint--he is invoked when constructing dams and dikes to prevent flooding. He is shown with a gray wolf's head and jade eyes; on his breast is a jade disk inscribed with the symbols for honor and order. This boat is sponsored by the Royal House. It is generally considered to be a poor bet to win, since Tolgiros will abandon competition to assist any boat and/or crew in difficulties.

The Venorila is a figurehead from the Miroi T'Chi-Chang fleet representing Neskira in her most destructive aspect. She is shown as a woman with a fierce pale face and wild black hair; she is crowned with lightning and in her upraised hand is a flail. It is unusual for a boat from some other city's fleet to run in Daiyla Kiv's race, and the Venorila was an uneasy choice to break the tradition, for she has the reputation of being a herald of deaths--it is said that when the Venorila races, there are ALWAYS deaths, though never among her own crew.

Zarilnia was said to a river nymph or demigoddess with whom Neskira has an on-going rivalry; she is represented as a red-headed woman with a stubborn face and a white bird on her shoulder. Zarilnia was said to be unpredictable, and the boat which bears her figurehead supports that reputation. It has never won the race, though at times it's come close; some bizarre occurrence always seems to prevent victory, often at the last moment. The boat is sponsored by a wealthy noblewoman of the house of Lansakar and carries an all-woman crew; it is never bet to win, but there is lively action on the question of just how far she'll get before some happenstance forces her to drop out of the race.

Zarilnikim is the twin brother of Zarilnia; in myth he is always torn between his love for Neskira and his loyalty to his sister. He is pictured as a red-head; he wears a golden headband set with emeralds and is bearded and looks angry.