Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-08T10:15:43Z

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Zu'aan tribe
|Name = Belraygha Tribal Zu'aan
|Parent Groups = N/A
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Zheef Mesa Canyon]]
|Date Founded = 4E 382
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

Over five decades ago, the [[Zheef Mesa Canyon]] of Taerel was key in the transport of goods across the lands. The zu’aan that once inhabited the canyon were known as providers of accommodation for many merchants and travellers that would journey through. This was the basis of their economy, with a crucial aspect being the trade of water; it was often ideal for travellers to give up some of their water to the people of the canyon to have a place to rest on their journey, as water was one of the resources that were scarce in such climates and terrain.

A nobleman once recalled his stay in the canyon, and described the inhabitants as “affectionate, solicitous people of discipline, who were well-educated in their way of life and providers of guidance through the mesa for those that were foreign to it.” However, all of this was due to change with the outbreak of the kin’toni plague, with one of the main issues being the terrain; the Zheefan people had been forced to secure themselves from the outbreak within the canyon, which meant that the kin’toni had an advantage in conquering their land.

Another key factor in the fall of the Zheefan tribe was that the plague resulted in a large decrease in the number of travellers through the valley, and therefore causing their economy to fall apart and droughts to take place, as well as famine: the mesa biome meant that there was difficulty in growing food and finding water for the population. Forced into drought and famine, it seemed as though the Zheefan tribe would lose in their struggles, and that is what did take place after an invasion by the kin’toni that lasted less than a year.

During the invasion of Zheef – which occurred during the winter of 4E 21 – King Sikandar of Zheef had handed control to his son Prince Sardar. Little did they know, the kin’toni had infiltrated the canyon by pretending to be travellers in need of aid. Meanwhile, some kin’toni troops were at the walls and surrounding the entrances into the citadel which caused severe disruption; they did this during sunset which ultimately surprised the zu’aan armies within and applied pressure to them. Once the sun had fully set, Prince Sardar and his troops felt the full force of the kin’toni army penetrate all entrances.

And occupy the sanctuary they once had; the zu’aan within were all trapped now and fodder for the kin’toni. The kin’toni also attacked from within using their fake travellers, and due to the fatigue, thirst, and exhaustion of the zu’aan troops within, there was ease in the kin’toni receiving victory. King Sikandar and his family were all killed, as well as his most noble men, and the rest of the surviving populace became kin’toni to join the kin’toni population Now the Zheefan Mesa Canyon is inhabited by the new Belraygha kin’toni clan.

Who use the caves and once hustling and bustling buildings that had been constructed by the previous residents as shelter against the scorching mesa sunlight that glares upon the land, raging upon the kin’toni and banishing them into cover. But once the sun leaves and pauses its onslaught, the night-time is a blessing for the kin’toni as cooler air fills the canyon and the kin’toni are freed from their imprisonment due to the glowering of the sun. Free to roam around during these hours, the night is the busiest time in the Zheefan Mesa Canyon, in comparison to the daytime which was once a time full of toiling and trading by the now long-gone zu’aan.

==Psychology==

Many members of the Belraygha kin’toni clan struggle with their living conditions and the restrictions because of the sweltering temperatures; a lot of them dream of moving to places where there is more freedom for the kin’toni, such as colder regions like the [[Sam'ome Frozen Land]]. This struggle means that many coping mechanisms, such as by finding ways to benefit the clan whilst in the sanctuary of the caves and buildings through cooking and cleaning, using art on the cave walls to express emotions, and planning of night-time excursions, are used to keep their minds off the long daylight hours that keep them in submission.

Personal space is lacking in the Belrayghan kin’toni clan, with many families being forced to share the same roof to survive because of overpopulation. Although many kin’toni leave for other nations every day, the arrival of many kin’toni travellers and zu’aan that can be bitten to join the kin’toni ultimately balances the loss out and keeps the numbers living in the Belrayghan kin’toni clan higher than sustainable. Whilst this does seem to be a more societal issue in terms of sustainability than psychological, arguments are common amongst the kin’toni with some believing they are entitled to a certain space.

And others preferring to not house more than one other family. Tensions can rise, with many family feuds occurring as a result of turners marrying off their turnees to other kin’toni families in hopes of providing them with a better life and allowing the houses to gain more space. Other issues include the scarcity of resources, and a severe need to preserve whatever you have – even the loss of a cup of water can deeply sadden and concern the kin’toni. Therefore, everyone in the clan takes whatever they can within their limits, and it is rare that members of the clan are willing to share resources.

(contrasting heavily with the affable nature of the Zheefan zu’aan). However, this issue is only common in the impoverished parts of the clan since the rich receive all their demands and do not have to suffer from a lack of supplies.
Contrastingly, some of the more pious kin’toni follow a similar thought process to the Zheefan scholars that once lived on the land they now inhabit, except they worship their lunar goddess Kinsi: these kin’toni people believe that their goddess tests their patience by having them stay protected from the wrath of the Zuin and blesses and rewards them with the cool safety of the night-time.

Due to this method of thinking, these kin’toni cope better mentally than the others. A convert describes his situation as being “a time to realise that I had been on the wrong path and had forced myself to believe that the conditions of this land caused by the Zuin were a blessing; it was in fact a curse. The accursed Zuin had misguided me from my beloved Kinsi, who is certainly blessed and offers me comfort during the night, granting me liberty and freedoms I had never imagined. Indeed, my goddess Kinsi has granted me mercy, for she has shown me the heavenly reality of the sacred night hours.”

==Culture==

Like the Zheefan zu’aan, large portions of the Belrayghan clan get to live a lavish lifestyle where they enjoy luxuries such as alcohol, costly jewellery, and leisure activities since the nearby mines are now back in commission and used to benefit the kin’toni economy – this job is often done by members of the clan that gain less extravagances and must instead do laborious work such as mining. As mentioned, jewellery has always been a part of the Zheefan culture, with gold being made into bracelets, necklaces, chains, and headwear that are symbols of wealth and status for the highly respected kin’toni clan members.

Clothing was also another way of displaying fortune, with the wealthiest member of the clan wearing comfortable layers of silk and satin that could protect them from the harmful effects of the sun, whilst many of the more deprived people settling for not wearing anything to cover their torso due to the heavy sweating because of the hot temperatures and intense labours. The kin’toni are talented in tailoring, as shown by the striking, elaborate embroideries that they can produce – it is believed that the aesthetic and quality of these fabrics are so good that it causes envy in neighbouring kin’toni nations,

With many being willing to pay riches for clothes from the region. The homes of the Belrayghan kin’toni differ, with the richer inhabiting any remaining buildings in the main kingdom and the new leader Tiru Shuha taking residence in the palace that once belonged to King Sikandar. Working with architects, Tiru Shuha managed to repair any housing destroyed during the invasion and construct them in a way that would protect any kin’toni inhabitants from sunlight. In contrast, those in poverty found themselves having to make their own homes in the caves and mineshafts nearby.

This consisted mostly of Zheefan zu’aan that had been turned into Belrayghan kin’toni. Those that were not compliant with the idea of having to live in the caves would often stay at the outskirts of the kingdom and make camps of multiple tents that blocked out sunlight and kept those kin’toni safe and sheltered. A key aspect of Belrayghan kin’toni culture is the fact that the walls of the caves that the poorer members inhabit are often decorated with imaginative, stunning works of art that are done by those that have the time to do it; this is often a coping strategy for the boredom caused by spending daylight hours in these cooler caverns.

A lot of these are very expressive of the emotions that some of the kin’toni feel, with a few of them showing the madness caused by a lack of freedom and an intense sense of boredom. As the caves are very gloomy, the impoverished kin’toni invested their talents into making safe and extravagant lighting that would illuminate the caverns and cause the shadows to dance in beautiful, calming manners. These lights start from simplistic but decorative torch holders constructed with iron to ornate and extravagant chandeliers made of gold and silver that could then be sold to the wealthier members of the Belrayghan clan if they admired it.

==Government==

The Zheefan zu’aan ruler during 4E 0 – 4E 21 was King Sikandar of Zheefan, who was unwillingly handed these powers by the government due to the kin’toni plague. The reason for this reluctancy from the Zheefan government was because King Sikandar deemed that it would be too risky to allow foreign ministers and other Zheefan nationals to be brought from abroad back to their homeland as it increased the chances of the kin’toni plague entering his kingdom.
During this time, King Sikandar had started a new system in society that was intended to keep itself sufficient following the decrease in the number of travellers.

And a necessity to block out all possibilities of kin’toni entering. One of the first rulings he made was to have a small zone outside the main kingdom to be for traders to stay, and to wall up the whole kingdom, shutting out anyone that tried to enter. Then, he made three new roles that he gave control of to ministers in the old government: the food managers, water managers and wall managers. The role of food managers was put under the control of Ruslan Gurakuqi, who would oversee that the population of Zheefan gains enough food. This led to an increase in farmers and people having to grow their own food.

Which worked for a while but was not ideal as the mesa climate caused difficulties in growing crops. Many started to try animal farming, but an issue was that animals also needed food and often this food was brought from outside the Zheefan region before the plague. Therefore, there was severe struggle and desperation, and due to poor distribution of food the kingdom fell into famine – a key aspect in its downfall. Water managers were arguably the most important as water was invaluable in the mesa, and they were put under the control of Sharif Leka.

As there was a lack of it, the issue of drought occurred and many of the poorer members of Zheefan society died to dehydration. Seeing no other option, Sharif Leka told King Sikandar their only hope was to journey outwards to neighbouring nations for water; the King reluctantly accepted this and then alongside the military and Leka many operations were initiated to travel to nations that were offering water. Although this was high-risk, it was necessary for the survival of the kingdom, and it can be noted that during the winter of 4E 21, King Sikandar started allowing travellers into the main kingdom.

One of his biggest mistakes since some of these travellers were secretly kin’toni prepared for an invasion. Dardan Dushku had control over the wall managers and ended up having to request help from the military to fight off the kin’toni forces that would sometimes try to attack the walls. This cooperation was vital in increasing the chances of survival, and they worked alongside engineers and architects such as Arslan Shehu to help reduce the spending of sandstone bricks and other resources on maintenance of the walls. Nonetheless, an issue was King Sikandar’s increased spending on protections that would benefit him and his closest men only.

Many suspected this and saw it as selfish, so rebelled against it. Eventually, the wall had been weakened beyond repair and supplies were lacking to even make basic fencing to protect against the kin’toni invasion, which allowed them to infiltrate easily. Now the kin’toni are similar in their structure of government, and the leader is the previous Belrayghan kin’toni military leader Tiru Shuha. To reduce tensions, he allowed the ministers to keep their rule over the managers and joined the wall managers with the military as a separate unit with the intention of keeping walls to protect against any possible zu’aan attacks.

Furthermore, many of the zu’aan were compliant with becoming kin’toni (particularly the impoverished) as they saw it as a better way of life, since they saw King Sikandar as being selfish and acting for his own needs only; there was even the possibility a coup had been plotted to overthrow the King and put one of the ministers in power instead.

==Military==

Before the kin’toni invasion, the Zheefan military were known for their vast supply of equipment: this was due to the nearby mines allowing them to gain many useful metals that could be forged quickly into weapons and armour at nearby blacksmiths. However, despite having so much power, there was an impossibly low chance of survival against the kin’toni, and hence the kin’toni are the new occupants. The military of the Belraygha Mesa Canyon kin’toni clan is one that focuses heavily on guerrilla warfare, with many kin’toni scout teams sent out at night to find travellers or possible nomadic tribes.

Raids are very common and can be used to gain valuable resources for the clan, as well as ambushing and sabotaging of travelling carts. Weaponry of the kin’toni are very similar to the previous inhabitants, since the mines have been conquered and are still in use. Furthermore, the metals can be transported to other neighbouring clans as well as other equipment. Although spears were commonly used by the Zheefan zu’aan, the kin’toni shifted to short swords and daggers as they felt that this was a better option due to the need to climb the hilly regions, and combined with their increased agility.

A smaller blade made a great combination; in the eyes of the kin’toni, spears would be too large and difficult to carry when scaling the steeper hilly regions of the Zheef Mesa Canyon. Another adaption that the kin’toni made were removing the use of shields by scout troops, who could instead carry a smaller knife or dagger to use as a weapon to block against enemies during combat; this was done for the same reason mentioned previously. Ultimately, the kin’toni adopted an arsenal of weaponry that would allow them better mobility.
Many camps are also set up to allow the kin’toni to easily send patrols that can search for these carts.

And there are many bounty-like events and challenges amongst kin’toni to capture the most carts in an evening. However, for some it is necessary to capture a cart, as it can often be the source of resources for one to live on if the clan are lacking supplies. It must also be noted that it would be uncommon to find travellers during the night as they would be cautious and aware of the threat of roaming kin’toni, so finding one was in a sense miraculous for a kin’toni. Outposts have also been liberated at common entrance points so that there can be control over who enters and exits the canyon.

With these outposts being often tall and having many towers to allow for archers to shoot any intruders; this is like what the Zheefan zu’aan used to do. Furthermore, troops could be sent to roam around the area in hunt for any zu’aan and lure them towards the outposts where they could be ambushed and then become part of the kin’toni army. Travelling kin’toni could also use the outposts as somewhere to trade, refill supplies, and find accommodation, before entering the main canyon region.

==Religion==

The zu’aan tribesmen of the Zheef Mesa Canyon were strong believers in the worship of a solar deity – He was called the Zuin. Shrines and temples were built to commemorate Him, as well as tall, imposing statues decorated with the finest, most lavish fabrics. Every Sunday, offerings in the form of gold and other metals would be brought, and the poorer members of the tribe were given food, clothing, water and other basic requirements. The scorching heat and emptiness of the mesa was often seen as a test from the Zuin by the firm believers, with many Zheefan scholars saying that these conditions are a test of patience and wisdom.

With a notable scholar called Aydor Mentheth writing about his beliefs of the environment in his works: “The mesa is a hilly place that is often barren and lacking the so called ‘luxuries’ that may be found in other lands. But all praise be to the Zuin, the one that sustains us and provides us with this home, the one that educates, teaches, schools us with ways of discipline, and helps us to grow, strive, improve ourselves in ways that make us strong and fearless. He has certainly blessed us, and those with enough wisdom are certainly capable and worthy of knowing what benefits He showers upon us.

Certainly, that is what I have learnt from my upbringing in this holy land.”
However, this all changed after the invasion of the kin’toni, who envisioned the solar deity as being a demonic figure rather than the God that He had been seen as by the zu’aan; this was because the sun was the cause of the kin’toni’s suffering as they must shield themselves from its rays - which were once embraced as sacred but now seen as cursed. Hence, an event took place which the kin’toni see as ‘cleansing of impurities’: the kin’toni forces destroyed all forms of respect for the Zuin.

The towering idols, extravagant temples, sacred shrines were all demolished. Contrastingly, the kin’toni began the worship of a new deity – this was the lunar goddess Kinsi. Day time would be spent in prayer for protection from the sun, whilst the night was often filled with ways to celebrate and send acknowledgments and thanks for being able to survive and the blessings the kin’toni believed they had received. Like the zu’aan, the kin’toni also made idols and shrines to worship their goddess and would bring back offerings (usually valuables captured from travellers like jewellery) from night-time excursions.

Many in the Belraygha clan believe that going out during the day is treacherous, as there are superstitions that lower demons of the Zuin roam during this time in hunt of the kin’toni – hence why it is necessary they were thick but uncomfortable layers of clothing to survive the sunlight. In contrast, the night-time is believed to be safe as superstition also shows a belief that protective beings from the goddess Kinsi are sent to protect the most faithful, although they are unable to be seen.

==Miscellany==

This region was once known as a ‘cradle of knowledge’ and was a place that many philosophers visited. The reason for this was because many people would travel there to learn the ways of Zuinism – they believed that Zuin philosophies were useful in teaching discipline and many other forms of meditation and self-help. Education was also an important necessity, and during a so-called ‘Golden Age of Philosophy’ students could visit the many great institutions that provided knowledge, as well as congregate with some of the best scholars and thinkers of their time.

Now, this has all been removed after the destruction at the hands of the kin’toni. The canyon is the source of many useful metals, and its mineshafts were famous for the multitude of resources that could be found, with a few of these including iron, gold, and other useful metals. These could then be forged and made into armour, as well as sold to neighbouring civilisations and travellers; this armour was very durable and had great strength, impressing many surrounding nations. A common use for the gold was to make jewellery, which could then be given to the Zuin as an offering or worn as a protective charm by the Belrayghan zu’aan.

The mesa was famous for its red sandstone bricks, which were of exceptional quality and used heavily in their architecture, particularly in their temples. Terracotta was also used from the hills to make ornate flooring patterns and mosaics, which could be seen in temples and the palace of King Sikandar of Belraygha – although currently destroyed after the kin’toni invasion, the red sandstone pillars in the grand hall can still be seen as well as the terracotta glazed flooring.

{{NearbyGroups
| Centre = Unknown
| North = Unknown
| Northeast = Unknown
| East = Unknown
| Southeast = Unknown
| South = Unknown
| Southwest = Unknown
| West = Unknown
| Northwest = Unknown
}}

{{CrossSiteAttribution
| User = [https://www.fiverr.com/zouie11 Zouie11]
| Holder = Zouie Taher
}}

[[Category:3rd-century Twilight Age zu'aan tribes]]
[[Category:Zouie Taher's contributions]]

Belraygha Tribal Zu'aan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)