Ethech City Zu'Aan

History

The Ethech city zu'aan were created by the legendary trader and warlord named Byonda Varus. They hailed from the endless steppes of the Xrana region where they dwelled alongside many other zu'aan tribes and groups. These settlements were spaced out over large distances and it was common for many of these groups to lead fairly isolated lives and be unaware of each other's existence. Byonda's tribe was one such group, she would buck the trend by joining some adventurers and traders in their journeys across the vast Xrana.

She was determined and had a natural thirst for adventure. This became eident from her very first expedition where she survived the attacks of marauding bandits and made it to a neighboring zu'aan city. Her story fascinated many of the residents and the ruler of the city rewarded her heavily- while asking her to establish contact and trade between their respective clans. This was Byonda beginning as a trader. Wiser from her past experiences with bandits and looters, Byonda employed a group of well-armed and trained guard corps- paid from her most recent reward.

She ran the trading business in her own cut-throat manner, pursuing her previous looters and recovering her goods before making an example of their dead bodies as a sign for anyone who dared to attack her. She became the most prominent and well-established merchant of the region, during the time of the kin'toni outbreak. She would lead the zu'aan from all over the Xrana region into her personal fortress for protection, and named them the Ethech City Zu'Aan. Her fortress was one of the most well-planned defensive structures in the region and was one of the few that were capable of withstanding a kin'toni attack.

The shattering was a revelation for Byonda as a leader. She was forced to take a more authoritative stance and convinced many of the zu’aan to join the Ethech colony through her persuasive arguments about the bloodthirsty nature of the kin’toni and the need to preserve their own race. She embarked on continuous fortification projects for the fortress and built concentric rings of wooden walls all along the exterior to protect themselves She was the Ethech zu'aan clan's founder and first leader.

She was known for her charismatic leadership style and oratory skills along with her temperamental and unpredictable decision making. She embarked on many unsound attacks on the superior kin'toni which did not end well for her armies and led to heavy losses within her clan. Despite these flaws, she was able to retain the support of her clan mostly through her authoritarian system of government and strict policing of the population. The Ethech zu'aan would survive the kin'toni outbreak and go on to become an influential clan in the Xrana region.

Following in the footsteps and ideas of their founder, many of the succeeding leaders would attempt to revive trade and contact in the region. They had limited successes in this venture as the kin’toni still maintained their presence in many parts of the Xrana and travelling caravans were subjected to incredible risks of ambush and attacks.

Psychology

The Ethech city zu'aan clan originated from the many small zu'aan communities that lived the vast Xrana steppes. They were largely isolated and did not pursue much contact with each other until Byonda started her trading company and formed them into a single clan. This meant that they had a lot of variations in language and culture and were naturally suspicious of each other. This was a common characteristic of the Ethech city zu'aan. They were filled with many citizens who did not share ideologies and were only in it to further their own interests and for survival.

Selfish interest was built into their psychology along with a mistrust of everyone, including their own Ethech members. Byonda was able to keep this tendency in check with the help of his authoritarian laws and a strict police force that ensured the clan's compliance with his orders. Her cruel measures were able to get the clan to work together during the chaotic kin'toni outbreaks and future generations of the clan would share more common interest and camaraderie as a result of their shared experiences and hardships during this period.

The Ethech city zu'aan would also acquire a deep appreciation for trade and exploration from their founder. They were among the first zu'aan clans in the Xrana to resume travelling and trading on the surface, once the outbreak ended. The Ethech zu'aan would manipulate the shortage of supplies and commodities in the region to make large profits. As a result, this business-like and shrewd mentality would become associated with the clan. This could lead to positive results, where their methods were copied and adopted by the other inhabitants of the area or work to their detriment and lead to the Ethech traders being chased away from the region.

The Ethech city zu'aan were exposed to a wide variety of cultures and maintained a working knowledge of all affairs around their habitat. They were known for their natural curiosity and ability to engage almost anyone in trade and negotiations. These qualities were necessary for their development as traders and helped them achieve a lot in this field. The clan would also discover a very determined and fierce side of themselves during the course of the kin'toni outbreak where they were embroiled in engagement after engagement with the kin'toni hordes.

Despite the ineptness and hasty decision-making of their leaders, the clan would manage to give a good account of themselves and earned the respect of many zu'aan. They were involved in many suicidal charges and battles that they had no chances of winning. These stories would become testaments to the clan’s bravery and capacity for warfare. They had an innate desire to survive, which was the driving force behind most of their motivations. Most of the clan members decision to join Byonda was borne out of their desire to survive the kin’toni attacks.

The clan had no problems of desertion as long as they held the large fortressed city of Ethech that protected them against any and all kin’toni attacks.

Culture

The Ethech city zu'aan came from tribal groups that settled in small encampments all along the Xrana steppes. They were known for their semi-nomadic lifestyles where they would live off their yurts, fashioned from animal hides and tanned leather. These temporary settlements could last for several seasons before the shifting animal herds and weather patterns forced them to migrate. They were very adaptable and had a deep and intricate knowledge of the environment. Their culture had a deep reverence for the mounts that facilitated their long-distance travels across the steppes.

These mounts followed them wherever they went and were given proper food and afforded the best care and treatment. They were excellent riders and were known for their ability to perform complex tasks such as archery, while riding full speed. They occupied a prominent position in the clan's culture and they even had a specific deity associated with these mounts. These mounts would be used as pack animals when the clan had to migrate across the Xrana. These animals were not initially used as trading caravans as these tribal communities preferred to isolate themselves and remain free of contact and communication with all other groups.

The people began to operate out of a single permanent base after Beyonda united them to form the Ethech city zu'aan. The fortified city of Ethech served as the base of operations from which they carried out their trading and commercial activities. They would regularly load up their goods and visit their surroundings in large caravans that carried all sorts of items for barter and trade. This became an essential part of their life and a means to support themselves. They were good businessmen and quickly adapted to the changing circumstances after the kin'toni outbreak.

There was a distinct lack of common celebrations and festivities due to the large variety of cultures within their clan. There was a lot of conflicting interests and belief systems within their clans and their only common interest was their survival. They were compelled to join the fortified city of Ethech because it provided them with the best chance of survival against the kin'toni. This situation would improve with the passing time and the clan's involvement in many battles of the region.

These mutual hardships would foster a sort of comradeship and help the clan members become more understanding towards each other. The commemoration of their sacrifices in these battles was one of the first common events that they could all find a common ground on. The Ethech culture did not have a well-developed art or crafting style. They procured most of their goods through trade, including their weapons, tools and art. This method helped them acquire the best of all worlds without having to produce these goods themselves.

Their diet was mainly composed of animals that were found in the Xrana region. They were traditional hunters' way before they became a clan, and their diet reflected their origins as hunters. Hunting was a prized skill within their clan and all their members were expected to have a certain degree of familiarity with it.

Government

The individualistic and self-serving natures of most members within the clan forced Byonda to adopt a strong and authoritarian leadership style. This system was necessary in order to align the clan's actions towards a single goal. Historically, Byonda Varus's rise to a leadership position was through her influence and connections as a trader with the backing of a capable mercenary army that served under her. She was responsible for the purchase of the Ethech city, which she intended to be a trading hub to run all of her business and commercial activities from.

She would adapt this purpose to meet teh region's needs as more and more zu'aan groups came under attack from the invading kin'toni hordes. The strategic location of her city made it an ideal place to defend and negated the kin'toni's overwhelming numbers. She would send messengers around the Xrana, offering them sanctuary in her city. She only asked that the people accept to become part of the Ethech city zu'aan in return and acknowledge her leadership. At this point in time, the whole region was gripped in panic and fear of an impending collapse of civilization.

The desperate zu'aan saw Byonda's method as the only way to ensure their own survival and willingly joined her clan. The Ethech city zu'aan clan's memberships would explode during these first few years and certainly exceeded Byonda's estimations and expectations. The growing numbers brought and increasing number of problems, including the issue of housing, identity clashes and a lack of cohesiveness within the clan. Faced with these challenges, Byonda would structure the clan's first government under her leadership.

This government was based on a very authoritarian concept where her word passed for law. She was the decision maker in all aspects of the clan's life and the law was enforceable by a group of well trained and loyal police force who were answerable to only Byonda herself. They would often resort to cruelty and violence in order to get the citizens to comply with the authority. This was necessary because of the vast differences among the clan members who all came from different tribal groups and affiliations within the Xrana region.

These methods would gradually be toned down once the clan had gone through enough hardships and battles to develop a common bond and sense of comradeship. While the policing measures eased down under successive leaderships, the form of government and the authoritarian nature of the leader would continue. The clan leader was free to dictate the policy as well as make any laws as they saw fit. The Ethech city zu'aan were known for their contact with many neighboring clans.

Many of these clans had been friends with their founder, Byonda- and her clan continued to maintain healthy relationships with all surviving groups after the kin'toni outbreak. Their government was known for its skill in diplomacy and its emphasis on trade and communications. It helped them gain many allies that they could call on, in times of hardship.

Military

The Ethech city zu'aan were involved in many wars and conflicts throughout their entire existence. Their greatest adversary was the kin'toni hordes that they faced during the kin'toni outbreak and after, in smaller confrontations. Their styles of warfare and tactics would develop, based on their experiences in these battles. They relied heavily on the clever use of their environment and surroundings to gain an advantage over their opponents. This included the use of their fortified Ethech city as a defensive bastion.

They would lure their adversaries to attack their fortified Ethech city while they defended comfortable from within the protection of their palisades surrounded by a moats and spikes. The city was a well-planned defensive structure and one of the few that was capable of withstanding a kin'toni attack. There was only one approach into the fortress that was constantly monitored by armed guards at all times. The passage leading to the city walls was very narrow and negated all effects of the numerically superior kin’toni.

It was no surprise that the clan fought and won most of their battles while they were on the defensive. They also suffered many defeats that were a result of failures in communication and mistaken orders for the troops. The first semblance of a military was raised by the clan's founder Byonda Varus to protect her commercial and trading interests from the thieving hands of the robbers and bandits who frequented these lands. She, herself had been the victim of such attacks and had suffered the loss of a friend which greatly traumatized her.

These fighters were mercenaries, recruited from all over the region with the sole purpose of ensuring the safety of her interests. They were paid for the work and were expected to fulfil the highest demands. The army would be formed along similar lines when they were established in the region. The people were divided into ranks and classes according to their skill and ability to accomplish deeds. There were the full-time army who were expected to serve all year and were paid handsomely for their service and the more civilian- militia ranks.

Who were recruited from among other professions such as farmers, craftsmen and cooks and expected to join the army in times of war. They were given smaller wages and less was expected of them in battle- although their numbers could turn the tides of most battles. The one glaring weakness of the military was their leader, Byonda Varus. She was a person with no military experience', whose insistence on commanding the armies herself led to many complications and poor military decisions.

These decisions took many Ethech city zu'aan lives but were quickly covered up before word could spread around. She could be very temperamental and order suicidal moves during her passionate moods. One such unpopular episode occurred when she ordered her armies to pursue a fleeing kin’toni band into the open Xrana steppes. She was intent on revenge despite the clear advantage of the kin’toni in open warfare. This foolhardy expedition would cost the lives of two thirds of her army, but the news was quickly brushed under the carpet and all was forgotten about it.

Religion

The Ethech city zu'aan believed in multiple Gods that were associated with the ancient people of the region. These gods were representations of the zu'aan’s various activities and lifestyle. Due to the nature of their clan, they were composed of many different cultures and tribes who came together for survival. This meant that there was no uniformity in their main god, nor their methods of worship and their depictions of them. Each separate community had their own gods- including the horse god Lloch, their hunting god named Turard, the god of fertility- Issit and the god of war, Dosesa.

The clan made effigies and idols of these gods that they worshipped within thier own homes. Byonda sanctioned the construction of many of the god's idols in public places where people could gather and pray together, but the idea failed due to the conflicting cultures within the clan. They were known to be very religious but kept their religious affairs separate from politics and governance of the clan. Religious festivals were celebrated within households but not out in the open.

These issues would be slowly resolved once the clan grew and their members had enough time to learn about their respective beliefs and cultures. The combined experiences of their wars with the kin'toni also helped to form a level of comradeship and helped to breach their previous reservations. The god Lloch was associated with the mounts of the regions. These animals were very highly regarded and Lloch was seen as the protector of their animals and a representation of their spirits.

The Llock worshipping members of the Ethech city zu'aan clan prayed to this god for the health of their mounts and to ensure a healthy foal during the breeding season. The god was commonly represented in idols and texts as a zu'aan body with a mount's head. The sacrifices associated with this god included grasses and meat along with fruits that were consumed by the mounts. The god Turard was commonly depicted as a lightly clad zu'aan male with a large gold longbow. His worshippers believed that their arrows were divinely guided by this god.

They worshipped him by going out on hunting expeditions where they hunted solely with their bows and arrows. The most skilled archers were seen as the beloved and blessed of the god. Issit the god of fertility was another god of the Ethech. She was depicted as a woman in labor and was worshipped by barren women, infertile males and those seeking heirs to continue their lineage. The god Dosesa was the god of war and was a common god among those of more violent persuasions. He was depicted as a heavily armored zu'aan- covered in leather and chains and wielding a lightning tipped spear.

His followers aimed to bring glory to themselves and their god through displays of bravery in battle. They could almost be suicidal in this pursuit and lacked the discipline to fight in a regular army. Byonda would shrewdly deploy them as first line troops to create chaos within the enemy troops.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Ethech City Zu'Aan

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