Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:41:30Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Zu'aan city
|Name = Draum City Zu'aan
|Parent Groups = N/A
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Giri Graywood Forest]
|Date Founded = 4E 148
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

Long ago, long before the breakout hit, Draum was a very fruitful place. It was a vibrant and ancient city with historical sites and beautiful architecture. It was a place zu’aans came to experience a little bit of history and feel a little closer to their ancestors. It was a place rich with legends of days gone and the mystical beings that surrounded the old city. It was a place inhabited and protected by a few close knit family groups. There was no high wall. No government. No protection when the kin’tonni passed through during the first years of the outbreak. Everyone was slaughtered. The 6000 people who called Draum home were turned or slain.

For a long time Draum, set in the heart of the [[Giri Graywood forest]], was abandoned. Nature took over. Plants and animals began to take over the Draum. Even the stone temples and fortresses were eroded and swarmed with moss and vines. As time passed and things settled down in the empire, Draum saw some traffic passing through. Those travellers that happened to stumble across the city began to settle within it. The stone temple saw new life and it was a good enough place as any to call home. Over the decades, Draumers grew in number.

Because it was fairly safe and surrounded by forest, life there was sustainable. The very first travellers to settle there was a couple with their 4 children. The woman, Gislain, actually gave birth to her fifth child within the temple walls. Gislain’s husband, Diran, had no choice but to stay there within the temple since moving with his newborn would have been dangerous for all of them. After a week, a group of six travellers from a city not far from Giri Graywood forest, joined them and decided to stay. Together they built a home in the temple and began to clean up the city, restoring it to a usable home for the 14 of them.

Not long after, they rescued another couple and another group. So the story goes of Draum’s rebuilding. The Draumers will scour the forest looking for people to help and rescue, recruiting them to become citizens of the city. Though the city of Draum barely touches a 2000 strong at any one time, the temple is a stronghold that can safeguard the population of the newly formed city. The forest supports them by giving them fruit and animals to hunt as well as water from streams.

Though they don't have a strong army or good weapons with which to defend themselves, they find comfort in knowing that the temple doors are too strong to force entrance into. The Draumers are friendly and giving to strangers. They have healed and helped many travellers through the forest. Some of those travellers even choose to stay. With the help of tamed animals, Draumer has managed to create a good civilization with all walks of life present. It is thanks to Diran, Gislain and their four children that we now have Draum again filled with people.

==Psychology==

Long before the outbreak, Draum was a place filled with religious and devoted holy men. They lived a solitary life, only now and again seeing travellers on a pilgrimage to their holy site. They were secretive and as they cared for the city of Draum and the forest spirits that dwelled there, they were respected and left alone. The outbreak took a lot of lives. Both the holy men and the families in the surrounding stone houses were either infected or killed. They left behind a lot of valuable antiques. Once Diran discovered the city, just as his wife laboured to give birth to the first citizen of Draum, he also discovered the gold mine that was within the temple.

From clothing, protected in stone boxes to jewels, bowls and cups made from clay. They had all the tools necessary to make a living where they were. From the first moment they stepped foot in the temple, the whole family felt a sense of safety, security and something they had not felt in a long time: Hope. Many travellers experienced the same thing the moment they set foot in the temple. The hope that the holy site brought upon all who ventured inside was heartwarming. It’s the reason many who come to discover Draum, decide to stay there. Many blame it on the good spirits surrounding the city.

Others say it is the heart of the forest beating a comforting tone to those who become citizens of Draum. Whatever it is, Draum has always been known to be a welcoming place. It is where lost souls end up going and calling home. It is a place that inspires people. That is why so many of the citizens of Draumer attempt to help travellers that enter the village, expecting nothing in return. The forest setting is a warm and welcoming place. This environment has an effect on the psychology of the people calling it home. There is very little to be concerned about and life is pretty simple.

The beginning of the ice age has not yet been felt because of the protection the forest offers from the cold. The citizens are happy and positive in their forest home. They have everything provided for them by the forest so unlike other cities, this one contains joy, singing and laughter. They still practice religion and even have their own culture adopted from Gislain and her husband many years ago. Little did the first settlers of the city know that they would be able to start their very own city by themselves. Rumours of Draum has spread far and wide.

The city has even been sought out by many who came across this rumour. That is because the city has become somewhat of a utopia. In this world where there is very little positivity and hope, there exists a place where people have it in abundance. Draum is a place that is still very much a holy site to this day. A true enigma.

==Culture==

The culture in Draum has changed very much from the early days when it was more a holy site than a safe haven. Before the kin’tonni were released on the empire, Draum was a place where religion was valued over culture. Things have changed very much over the years as different people from different cultures took over the tiny city. At first, the culture was mainly followed by Gislain and her husband. They honoured the one true god, Mirow, that is believed to have made the earth and all who lived in it. The culture consisted of 19 holy days and 5 holidays. The family, even being away from their original city, would carry on those traditions.

Out of respect for their rescuers, the people who joined their city would do the same. Over the years and the generations that followed, things have changed. Now the culture of Draum is more or less a combination of many other cultures that joined the city. They don’t follow the religious holidays anymore since there are different gods, newer gods to honour. They do celebrate the birth of the first Draumer born in the temple. It is a day where everyone will feast together. In Draum men and women are equal and they have equal rights. This also means that men and women will share responsibilities like child rearing, cooking and hunting.

Those who are more talented at cooking will often take over the job of cooking the meals for the family, despite the sex. Elderly individuals are cared for and honoured far more than the rest of the citizens and when it comes to a hunt, each family will involve one of their own members. A successful hunt is shared among all the citizens so food is generally cooked and eaten together.
Couples mate for life. Once a couple has chosen to be together they have to remain monogamous and stay together until one of them dies. This social norm was decided and created by Gislain and her husband.

A couple will have a feast held in their honor every year to celebrate their union and commitment to one another. Anyone caught in the act of adultery will be thrown from the city and banned from entering it. The partner who'd been cheated on will then be permitted to choose a single person to start a renewed commitment too. This is the way the group can guarantee that the city keeps growing and having a dependable population. Children born to a couple with be named with a name that starts with the first initial of the same sex parent. This is a tradition started by Gislain too.

She named her three boys with the initial of her husbands name. Her last born little girl was named with a name starting with the letter G. Draumers have one more tradition that is honoured above all other traditions. That is kindness to strangers. No matter were the stranger heralds from, they will always be welcome in Draum.

==Government==

Draum has never seen any sort of government in the city. There has never been one leader which all other citizens must follow. There has never been a council to make the rules and decisions. Since it was a holy site with followers and families calling it home, there was never a point where someone wanted to take power for themselves. Anyone with such ambitions were generally shunned by the community. Not much has changed over the decades. It’s still not very welcomed for someone with too much ambition to try and take control over the city. The citizens don’t appreciate it very much and will make that very clear.

Instead of a government telling everyone what to do and how to do it, the Draumers prefer to sit down and discuss the problem and the possible solutions. Guidance from the elderly citizens of the city is pursued and their advice is heeded among any of the other citizens. During the decision making process, the majority will often win. That is how Draumers conduct their problem solving strategies and for many decades. This has actually worked very well for them over the years. They have overcome many challenges as a community.

Many of those who joined the city have joined, just for this reason. They came from a strict government with strict rules and a strong military to the more peaceful way of life that Draum offered. They are more in touch with nature since they live in the forest and have learned that the forest is not ruled by a singular entity making up the rules but rather as a collective entity following the natural laws that are in place already.

Since this is the way the citizens of this tiny community have worked for a long time, they would not know how to be governed by a government of any sort. There have been some citizens that have suggested building a council of elderly citizens to run the city but the majority have voted against that idea. Everyone is in control of their own household and their own family and since all are equal in the city, the rules for each household and the children in the household are worked on by the parents together. Children are often brought up with chores and are given a place in the community to feel a sense of belonging since their chores are often to help the community.

Children, as they grow up, develop a sense of responsibility toward the community that allows them to want the best for the city and the citizens they grew up around. Each citizen has a sense of protectiveness toward one another. They are willing to help each other achieve goals because they were brought up to understand that they were needed, that they belonged as a Draumer among their peers and elders. Raising a child then becomes the responsibility of everyone. Values and pride in the city is then one of the main lessons that is taught so that a government is unnecessary.

==Military==

Just like the government, the military has never existed in Draum. During the days before the outbreak, the families and holy men living in the temple and the city did not need to fear anything. There was a good amount of respect for the people on the holy site and apart from that, there were many rumours claiming that if you did something evil in the holy site you would be severely punished for your actions. That rumour has been circulated time and time again. Even though the holy men that lived in the temple before are by now long forgotten, there is still a superstition that the spirits will haunt you if you do something against the people they protect.

As far as anyone is concerned, that happens to be the Draumer. Even children are taught to respect the spirits from a very early age and not to do anything to offend the spirits. That is one of the reasons that there has never been a need for military presence. The other reason is for the simple fact that the Draumer can hide in the temple and close the big solid stone doors to the temple, providing protection for all inside. The temple is also large enough to comfortably house 850 people at any one time. It is the Draumer’s belief that they are completely safe from any threat that lay in the empire.

They have never learned to fight and rarely carry any weapons on them unless they are hunting their food for the evening. The Draumer enjoy being calm and peaceful. They will not accept violence or a force like the military. They have heard from many deflectors that the military is a hard and forceful group of zu’aan who impose strict rules and, in some cases, suicide missions on the recruits forcing said recruits to become deflectors and flee their cities and governments. The stories have horrified Draumers enough that they will go to great lengths to avoid being in a situation where they would form such a terrifying and power wielding group such as the military.

Draum citizens believe that a military is not needed since the community, following their own rules, will keep in check other citizens, whether friends or family, for the safety and prosperity of the entire city. They also believe that the spirits would most definitely not allow them to cause harm or take harmful actions against the city anyway. They have faith in the forest spirits and believe that the spirits are capable of causing death as punishment.
Like any other zu'aan, they will avoid punishment and will pursue pleasure. It is therefore in everyone's best interest to not do something that would cause negativity in and around their lives.

Every citizen, as such, has the best interests of everyone else at heart. It had been this way for decades. The city is now an established place that is violence free. It is one of the most peaceful places in the empire and many claim that it's because there is no military.

==Religion==

Draum used to be a holy site for the one true god, called Mirow . But when the breakout happened, the place where prayer and piety reigned. The outbreak changed that. Holy men and those that lived in the city were slaughtered or changed to join the ranks of the kin’toni. When Gislain’s family came and Diran decided it was a good place for them to settle they brought with them their religion, filling the temple once more with praise to Mirow. They had religious text and plaques all around them with stories and scriptures of their god left behind by the holy men so it wasn’t hard to teach their children the ways of their faith.

When the other travellers came and settled in the city with the family they quickly took on the religion and for a while this was the main religion practiced among the city. Over the decades living in the forest, the religion fell away to be replaced by something different: Spirituality. Soon enough a new religion was formed. They started to honour the many spirits of the forest. They celebrated the plant spirits, the animal spirits, the water spirits and over time, lore and legends were created about the different kinds of spirits.

This became more or less, the new religion that the city now followed and relied on for their day to day life. They honoured the spirits with festivals and offerings. They had little rituals they performed and with each new ritual, they made sure to help the forest survive. When a tree was chopped down, they would plant another. They only killed an animal for meat once a week and prayed for that animal’s life. Rarely would they take a female over a male elkin and normally they would stick to elkin anyway. Elkin is a creature with four hooved legs, standing 6 ft tall and with enough meat to feed many people.

Though they are covered in prickly spikes along their back and possess a pair of sharp tusks, the Draumer have learned to become experts at hunting them. When they have hunted their prey, they will use absolutely everything that the animal possesses for its death to not be in vain. They care a great deal for the forest and even offer some food to the predators sharing the forest with them. They understand the circle of life far better than their counterparts. They are proud people and they understand their home and the spirits that live there.

Because of their offering to the predators once a week, they have never seen any trouble from frequent visitors who have learned that the Draumers give them food. They have almost begun taming the beasts of the forest. Since their religion is all about harmony now, they are almost one with their surroundings. They have become the true essence of peace and their way of life has attracted more and more to their city. Many people dream of the kind of utopia offered in Draum.

==Miscellany==

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

{{CrossSiteAttribution
| User = [https://www.royalroad.com/profile/222890 angelsonggd]
| Holder = angelsonggd
}}

[[Category:2nd-century Twilight Age zu'aan cities]]
[[Category:angelsonggd's contributions]]

Draum City Zu'aan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)