Stevie Lambert at 12:59, 10 May 2026

2026-05-10T12:59:53Z

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Zu'aan tribe
|Name = Edano Tribal Zu'aan
|Parent Groups = N/A
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Iuste Ashland]]
|Date Founded =
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

Late into the Shattering Age, in the year of 132 4E, the Laenaia tribal zu'aan existed as almost an intimidating presence for the kin'toni of the age; it was a tribe so massive and strong in their capability, that it often debated the right to declare themselves a full kingdom, being one of the strongest expressions of sovereignty and population numbers of that entire age period; however, that very size was one of the biggest reasons for its downfall. In the year of 141 4E, due to the effects of both political polarization.

Led by pressuring extremist groups, we observe the decay of the Laenaia tribe, once a thriving semi-kingdom, now a collapsing society, that could barely keep its citizens fed on a constant basis, often running short of resources even while living in one of the richest regions of Taerel, and, slowly, stability was chipped away from it, until its declared fall in the year of 141 4E, when the tribe was torn apart by a kin'toni attack that happened simultaneously to what can only be described as a civil war.

From such collapse, three other tribes were born: one which reigned in the same region of the Laenaia, another one which fled further north, and the one whose history will be described today, that fled south, the Edano tribal zu'aan; this tribe was mostly composed of the impoverished class that wasn't accepted into either of the other two factions, which had to make amends with the minimal they had, while also fleeing the kingdom from the civil war's destruction, which was one of the key factors to destroy the little that class had previously achieved.

They fled, as was mentioned, south, and for weeks they traversed the lands; luckily, the plundering kin'toni did in the old tribe's remains kept them distracted during most of the Edano's odyssey; due to the lack of oppression from their previous home, they were able to keep most of the tribe's members fed well just from harvesting and hunting in their path south, which continued on and on until arriving at the Iuste Ashland. Despite the mistreatment most of that tribe received from their old structure, many of them still held good memories to the destroyed place they once saw as a home.

And from such notions, they found an ashland quite the fitting place to set up shop for, viewing themselves as members that are duty-bound to protect what remained under the ash, which was seen as a clear symbol of destruction; a huge number of this impoverished class were also miners, which allowed the Edano tribal zu'aan to develop quite far into metallurgy and other sort of iron productions, while also developing into a culture which treats the ground with reverence, that asks the Edano to simply stay put regardless of how troublesome that area gets.

Because regardless of condition, it is the only place in the world that can be fairly seen as a biological expression of the remains left by destruction, one of the key dynamics of this tribe.

==Psychology==

The psychological profile which permeates the Edano tribe holds an incredibly fascinating yet gritty nature, due to it being birthed from a people who have internalized the collapse which tackles their world as no more than a lesson, one which focuses on teaching only about the futility of something that many see as "grand." This is seen primarily on how the tribe has quite a bottoms-up view of the world, something rooted in their individual history as the lowest class of their previous home.

Which becomes quite interesting in practice when we see how the members of the Edano tribe tend to not only just live amongst the ash, but many times identify with it, almost as if those burnt leftovers were a key to acknowledge a truer layer of reality. This is also expressed in some practices of the Edano's critical thoughts, such as how, unlike the vast majority of zu'aan, who might look up a mountain and observe its size as something which expresses strength and achievement through intimidation, they, instead, often imagine how much the debris of it would weigh against the soil.

Which allows them to, oddly enough, find comfort in being at the bottom layer of society, often preaching about their beliefs that those who stand at the lowest are the ones who will hurt the least from a fall, creating a collective consciousness that is very humble and, at the same time, extremely suspicious of individuals which seek to acquire high social statuses. They, as was mentioned within their history section, also observe themselves as a tribe that exists within an undeniable existential weight on their shoulders.

Responsible for a duty that cannot be denied by any members that are truly a part of the Edano tribal zu'aan. This is seen on how they, even while holding hatred to the social structure which placed them in misery in their previous tribe, have to exist and preserve any of the relics left from the destruction from their previous tribe, since, regardless of position, a home is still a home, or in this case, it was. These notions of grief are undeniably projected into how they take care of the ashland itself.

Such as how protective they are of the very ash where they step, seeing that ash as bones of the world, just how they were bones of Laenaia; this quickly naturalized amongst the members of the tribe into not only a spiritual compulsion, but a biological need, a fully natural desire to protect the ground and any of its fair expressions into existence, regardless if they have to face the apocalypse to do so. Furthermore, another common notion of the Edano's psyche is their common ground in the need for skepticism, which is birthed from how they observed Laenaia, a massively developed society, cannibalize itself from the inside.

This trauma makes it so they are quick and witty to question any sort of attempt to regard large-scale organization, making it so most members of the tribe are nearly allergic to the ideas of supreme or strong leaders, creating highly individual decision-making that still stands strongly for moral righteousness.

==Culture==

The cultural framework developed, within the Edano tribal zu'aan, quite an interesting set of characteristics that evolves into quite a fascinating paradox, creating a series of members that are nearly masters in their craft, but yet still refuse to build many monuments or attractions, simply due to their overall acceptance to what many zu'aan and kin'toni would simply see as waste. This is seen clearly in how their culture values many things regarding the idea of a bottom layer, which is illustrated in the example given of their daily labor.

Which is transformed thoroughly into a fully meditative ritual, making it so what should be the simple process of exploring for ore becomes a rhythmic process of freeing metals from the collapse, which is represented by the ashy soil of their biome. Furthermore, the tribe's architecture is one that follows most of their logic around valuing what's lower more than what rises without reason, creating notions that oppose any sort of extremely tall or unnecessarily risen structures, seeing that as a risk due to their potential fall.

It is expressed best by how their housing units are nearly invisible from a distance, which is used not only as a way to reinforce their naturalized thinking, but also allow them to hide from kin'toni's observation; these housing units are often regarded or treated like pit dwellings, dug deep into the ash and lined with plates of ores or even obsidian; when expanded upon, it is done so vertically, making it so even wealthy families don't go much higher than two floors (which would be only one above the ground).

They instead opt for deep sprawling complex lines of tunnels almost within the soil. Their artistic expression also draws lots from the tribe's previously described ideals, even despite the tribe's short and recent existence, creating many different art styles that express, be it in paintings, drawings, or even gravures, the ideas around repair, focusing on the main idea that scars are responsible for telling stories of survival; this is seen due to how, for the Edano tribal zu'aan, broken tools or cracked pots become way more valuable after they're fixed back up.

Mending them with often times even more aesthetically pleasing features, such as molten iron or glass, creating a series of undeniably permanent marks on the shape of the item as a way to show that it remained alive despite challenges, that it managed to compose itself back up into usability regardless of the destruction it faced. Another core cultural concept that is very well kept within the tribe's existence is that of metallurgy, which is seen as basically an ancient technique despite its simpler studies in comparison to a plethora of other practices.

Which created a deep relationship with iron amongst the members of the tribe that do have the skill to tend to it; iron itself is treated as the blood of Laenaia, and those who tend to it are seen as masters of memory.

==Government==

The government style of the Edano tribal zu'aan often follows concrete attempts to oppose the top-heavy system which led to the failure of the Laenaia, which leads to a governing doctrine which sees strong and centralized power as structural flaws, which concentrate too much in a small point, leading the rest of the structure to tip over, which would, for them, destine the same structure to come to collapse at some point, which leads to political notions which are extremely horizontal by nature.

This tribe's governing council is composed of six members of different sectors within the tribe's societal functioning, each with their own methods of leader choosing, many adhering to democratic practices; these leaders are then brought together within a small subterranean sector of the tribe; no full leader amongst them is declared, and each of them hold onto an equal amount of voting and decision power, which normalized an idea where the circle is the only proper shape which cannot be toppled.

Since, instead of stacking resources or power, it's cycled amongst individuals, each one being a crucial piece to keep the whole structure afloat, which, when applied to this council, follows the logic where every decision of the tribe must be fully weighted by the members of the council, ensuring that no single individual can rise above the collective. Now, onto the specific leaders: they are chosen, in the majority of the sector, due to their demonstrated mastery within a craft and the collective interpretation of their said ability.

Each one being responsible not only for that power within the decision making of the entire tribe, but also the resolution and treatment of internal affairs within each of their sectors; and even that level of authority is strictly limited even within their sector's own depth, where they can often times be vetoed by the populous consensus around a decision, and they, obviously, have about no power in the direct internal decision making of other sectors themselves, all of which is done to prevent leaders to climb their way into a dictatorship.

The justice system within the Edano tribal zu'aan is fully decided and handled through strictly regularized trials that are observed by the council, which seek to understand each sediment of truth within the occurred case; these trials are, logically enough, public, yet still allow for quite a sense of quietness; we see both parties presenting evidence to the best of their abilities such as that is seen within classic trial systems; however, we often see more physical and concrete evidence that can nullify accusations.

Due to recorded labor history that can often justify one's presence within a time period, something done arduously after a series of regulatory measures taken in the year of 141 4E. The bureaucratic matter which consists the system of the Edano tries to rid itself of complex laws or even written constitutions that can be manipulated by groups that attempt to slash the government apart, instead relying on chains of memory created within most of the tribe, allowing for subjective interpretation of what should and what shouldn't remain within society.

What is seen as threatening and what is not, which leads to a higher rate of approval within decision making, but also a high level of inconsistency.

==Military==

The military forces of the Edano tribal zu'aan follows doctrines that avoid the overall view of the army as a tool for conquest, instead trying to shape that entire institution as a concrete system that has the focus and objective of concealment and grounding; instead of fighting for simple abstract, and for the Edano, futile concepts, such as glory or territory, their main objective is to fight to remain unobserved and protect the backbone of the world, that being, for the Edano, their own tribe, and the ashy biome where they reside.

Their primary goal, as was briefly described in the previous paragraph, is the attempt to maintain the tribe's concept of sovereign invisibility, believing that battles are won and conflicts are solved when you're able to, as an armed forces, prevent a battle from even happening; they use divided ranks of scouts that are trained thoroughly to blend into the monochrome landscape of the tribe's ashland, even bathing themselves with such ash, or staining their cloaks with it, all with the objective of camouflaging themselves from enemies.

Allowing enemies to many times march right past them, only attacking when necessary. Another dynamic which comes directly from the way in which the members of the Edano tribe chose to build their architecture, is how many of their military tactics follow the underground network which houses the vast majority of the tribe, thus becoming extremely vertical within the nature of attacking tactics; these tactics often follow trapdoors within the terrain's ash that make reckless kin'toni drop into things that range from iron-lined cages or even fully developed spike pits with poisonous tips.

Where the kin'toni are killed by groups lined up in the bottom of those pits, which leads to ideas that while not directly combatant still strike with brutal efficiency and serves a highly crucial purpose in defending the livelihood of the tribe members. Though, even despite their mostly sneaky tactics, it's still possible to observe a heavy line of infantry that allows for them to effectively present a direct face-to-face combat alternative when things turn sour, which is really impressive for the tribe's already very small existence.

This heavy army is composed of weighted guards, members of the armed forces which carry a unique set of armor plates, that are layered with deep iron layers that are padded with thick leather, often times also mixed with compressed ash, as a means to dampen the sound of movement and to allow for a better level of camouflage. These troops move together in regularized formation, often carrying massive, rectangular obsidian and iron shields that form into a wall when facing a big challenge, slowly advancing within the soil they so much value, much preferring to be an immovable object than an unstoppable force.

==Religion==

The theology which encompasses the Edano's faith system is incredibly heavy on the individual whilst still upkeeping a quiet presence, one which is undeniable for relying mainly on a set of physical components that are a constant around the living spaces of the Edano tribe, often drawing from the foundational myth of the fall of Laenaia and its declaration to the tribe that they must remain dutiful within the task of purgatorial maintenance. Within the monochrome and quite empty lands of the Iuste Ashland, the Edano tribal zu'aan develop their faith around the very heat which fills up the air around them.

They see it as the ultimate expression of the existence of the divine, which acts as sort of an internal flame for the world, something which spreads its spark to every zu'aan which is currently alive within Taerel; and thus, it is this metaphysical concept which they worship, and this worship in question is practiced around deep earth cells named "Hearts," places with a somewhat intricate system of heating as to allow those spaces to never grow cold, which, for the Edano, allows the soul to remain alive and keep up its purpose of tending to all the ash left to the world.

As was mentioned before, not only within their religious description but also within cultural and psychological notions, the members of the Edano tribal zu'aan often regard themselves as zu'aan which exist with a strong and necessary duty to guard what are seen as the remains of the world, that being what is nearly a sacred leftover of the earth for them, but is most commonly referred to as ash. These components are treated to encompass what can only be described as the bones of the world.

Which are the physical remains of the ancestral civilizations responsible for the upkeep of Taerel, which, consequently, means all of the soil within the ashlands is treated as nothing less than a holy relic. The act of digging, for example, is seen as not just a form of labor, but something that clearly holds a weight of being sacramental, a sort of practice necessary, treated almost as deeply as proper theological studies into experiencing the dynamics of the divine; which makes this process into a highly ritualized one.

Where even priests come down to tunnels to perform prayers for the miners, which, for the Edano, is a way of guaranteeing both the safety of the miners and to guarantee the world isn't upset about the disruption of the backbone of Taerel, being that the ashy soil. The Edano also, within their belief system, seem to believe that within an afterlife, the soul of each individual zu'aan is guaranteed salvation via their placement and welcoming into a sort of cosmic sieve, one that only makes room for those members that carry refined and heavy soul.

Which is where their moral code comes in, defending many things from humility to the following of the duties as is established within their horizontal societal logic.

==Miscellany==

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

{{CrossSiteAttribution
|User = kalilbao (Discord)
|Holder = kalilbao
}}

[[Category:kalilbao's contributions]]
[[Category:2nd-century Twilight Age zu'aan tribes]]

Edano Tribal Zu'aan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert at 12:59, 10 May 2026