Skeltan City Zu'aan

History

Skeltan is a city scattered between the sandy beaches and sharp rocks of the Keltur Iron Beach. The city is protected by high walls and the lack of light makes the city hard to find. The city streets are often covered in cold mist and it’s generally a damp, cold place. The citizens have learned to fish and for food but they will often dry the fish in order to preserve it in the damp climate. Because they follow a god of shadows and darkness they have learned to get by without fire or light. For this reason, there is seldomly a chance to have a cooked meal because fire is used only by the disciples called the light carriers.

They are the only people blessed enough to be able to cook and they will often hold a celebration during the first full moon of every month offering the citizens cooked food. The city has been fairly safe from the happenings of the cold war and the kin’toni attacks. The city never had a real leader and relied mainly on a group called the light carriers. They are the only ones who are allowed to handle fire and light. They form a council of light that makes the laws of the city and decides on important matters. They also enforce the law when it is needed.

Any wrong doer in the city will be judged accordingly and given a punishment that the council believes fits the crime. The citizens are very aware of playing by the rules. Their law givers are not kind individuals. They are dangerous and being on their bad side could be life threatening. This is why there are not very many burnings. Burnings are when a criminal or an intruder is tied to a stake and set on fire by the light carriers after their trial and judgment. The city has handled it’s affairs like this for many years and have survived past what they should have done.

Many believe it’s because of the mist surrounding the city too as well as their avoidance of light. Not much is known about Skeltan outside of the city considering that the city has been avoiding the outside for years now. Their fear of outsiders has caused them to isolate themselves and few who have found the city have escaped the deadly light carriers and their weapons. The city has always been self reliant, using what they can scavenge and fish for as sustenance. The light carriers are the only ones allowed to fish or scavenge so the people of the city heavily rely on the light carriers to keep them alive.

That is why many of the light carriers have positions of power and are forced to learn everything from fighting to medicinal herbs. The ordinary citizens of the city are often mostly responsible for the upkeep of the city, the preparing of meals and their own families. They also create clothing to wear from animals that are found along the beach or further inland that the light carriers are lucky enough to bring home.

Psychology

Because the city is always in darkness and they live away from fire, they are mostly ill which brings down morale in the city. Their fear of fire and their limited use of it is seen as them honoring their God. They have always been known as the dark ones and tend to stay away from the light, seeing it as evil. During the daytime, they will often stay in their houses and out of the sun. This can make them dull and exhaustion is a daily struggle for most people. It helps that the Keltur iron beach is a place that is constantly plagued by storms and bad weather.

When the sun is not out and the gloom surrounds the bay that they have called their home, the citizens of Skeltan come alive. The saving grace for them is tat the climate change bringing the cold hfronts is happening at a quicker rate. They believe that this is their God preparing the world for his coming. The people of the city are preparing to meet their god and they rely heavily on the light carriers of the temple of light to guide them through to the day that their god will rise and cast darkness on the world. This belief is strengthened when they begin to realize that the winters are becoming longer, colder and darker.

They understand that this is a sign from their god that he is on his way. This is one of the most important signs that the people cling to. They are looking toward the end goal. This idea that the world will end does not give them much of a drive to live. The city goes about their days in darkness and mist that rarely dissipates. They do not trust outsiders and it’s up to light carrier scouts to kill and discard any strangers coming even close enough to the city to know of its existence. Their distrust of the outside world also makes them naïve to everything that is happening outside of the mist.

The constant mist is another thing that can bring the psychology of an individual down. The people are fearful of stepping outside the mist and even view it as a safety blanket that keeps them from being seen. Their distrust of strangers extends to that of other cities. They believe that if the mist would leave them exposed some other city would take over the city, killing them all. This was preached by the council of light in order to keep their people subdued and willing to follow the law. The people of the city have generally been brainwashed to believe that they are safest in the city among the mist and darkness.

The ones who control the light will control the power. The only thing the city tolerates is the light of the moon. They live for the darkness and in the darkness often sleep during the day. This is how the city has lived for many generations and they don't see a reason to change something that already works for them.

Culture

The people of Skeltan firmly believe that light is dangerous. They follow Ackles the god of darkness and have followed his teachings for generations. In their culture, fire is dangerous. Because fire is such a danger because it gives light for the demons to come and attack, there are only a few prophets of Ackles that are allowed to handle fire and step into the light. These prophets undergo years and years of specialized training to help them handle and deal with the light so as not to lure demons to them. Being a carrier of the light is an honor that is not often given to just anyone.

Children are specially chosen from a very young age to become part of the light carriers. It is up to the head prophet to choose these children and they have to be born in a certain month under the light of a full moon. This child is taken from their family and raised in the temple of Ackles. Children go through many trials when they first arrive at the temple. These trials include teaching them how to fight with sharpened blades that have small spikes and curves to them. These weapons are created by the light carriers from various metals that they find along the rocks of the beach.

The metals are melted down by more experienced light carriers and formed into molds. Once a light carrier is of an age that he or she is deemed ready to graduate from the trials, each light carrier is given two unique blades that they name. These blades then become the weapons that the light carriers call their own. Light carriers are then given most of the responsibilities of keeping the city safe, going on scouting missions to collect and trade as well as killing intruders to their surrounding lands. Being a light carrier also means that you are part of the council of light.

The council of light is like the government of the city. They schedule festivals during the full moon and they intend to be there during the birth of each child during those three days of each full moon. They also organize scouting missions that allow them to collect herbs and other foods they might find in the region. They will schedule burning ceremonies too. Burning ceremonies are when strangers or criminals of the city are burned. They are given a trial but ultimately it is down to the council to decide whether a particular criminal will be burned.

The burning is a testament to all the other citizens what could happen if they step out of place and break the rules. The rules, of course, are set up and managed by the council of light. All council members are equal regardless of age or sex. The fact that the full moon festival of births, often called the reaping, happens every month, allows for the light carriers to never run out of members. The culture is mainly surrounding these light carriers and it has been this way for many years.

Government

The closest thing to a government that the city has is the light carriers. The light carriers are responsible for keeping the city going. They make laws. They hold council meetings about problems that crop up in the city that require solutions. They make plans for expanding the city. They organize scouting missions in order to keep their territory safe and secure from intruders or potential enemies. They are the only ones that can fish and hunt bringing food into the city and they are the ones that uphold the law. If ever there is a need to hold a trial and decide on punishment for an individual, the light carriers will be the ones to do so.

They have control over almost everything in the city and so far they haven’t let the city down since all the citizens are looked after and healthy. The light carriers are vital to the survival of the city. If not for them, the city would have fallen a long time ago. The light carriers are the individuals who are seen as blessed and they often live under the impression that they are all equal. A light carrier’s job is to be good at almost everything that the city requires from them. They are taught from an early age the key skills that will help them serve their city to the best of their capabilities.

The first thing a light carrier learns is problem solving skills. Then they are taught how to smith a weapon into being starting from the very basics of finding a rock with good metal inside of it. After that they are taught to be good warriors. This is the last of their lessons since they will become graduates once their training in combat is complete. Finally they are sent to scout and fish. They are taught how to cure illness and which herbs are best to use when and how. Overall, the city has a good system in place to govern it correctly and that has been shown in the history of the city.

They stick to their rules and follow the laws set in place for them. The amount of new recruits constantly joining the light carriers makes it so that there are always fresh minds and bodies able to take on the responsibilities of the city. These light carriers are trained for any scenario that might come to cause threat to the city. They are dedicated to the wellbeing of the city as well as the people living within it. The citizens of the city are so integrated with one another and the families are so interwoven that it would be an impossibility for the light carriers as individuals not to care what happens to their people because all these people are seen as their family members.

They would risk anything to protect these people and it shows in the care and dedication they have during their training to become part of the organization that takes care of the city.

Military

There is no real military in the city since the city is mainly run by the light carriers. The light carriers are the warriors and protectors of the city. They are trained in combat and are a dangerous force. They collect metals from the rocks scattered around the beach that they melt into sharp curved blades. Each is unique in its design and made for their handler. Those handlers are the freshly graduated recruits from the new generation of light carriers. Light carriers are children born under a full moon. The full moon is celebrated for three days and children born in those three days are taken from their parents to become light carriers in the light temple.

The jobs of the light carriers are varied. They collect metals. They create weapons from those metals. They go on scouting missions. They fish and collect resources and they are the only ones able to wield fire and light. What makes the light carriers such great warriors is the way they can move silently with little light. All the citizens of the city have developed a unique night vision that allows them to see better at night than during the bright sunny day. In fact, the sun is very blinding to them. Light carriers are lucky in that respect.

If they are to detect strangers on their land, they have a better chance of catching them then the intruders have of reaching the city. Not only are the light carrier warriors the protectors of the city but they are also the punishers and judges of the city. They will also execute anyone they believe deserves the punishment. The city was never involved in the cold war and thus they have never really had to choose a side. Because they are vastly unknown, they have very little to worry about where enemies are concerned.

They know that whatever threat comes their way, they will be able to face it because of their ability to fight and create weapons. The people of Skeltan believe that the light carriers, those born under the light of the full moon, are blessed enough to avoid the demons that are attracted to the light. They are blessed by Ackles’s protection. These light carriers follow the religion and what is written in the prophecies of decades ago. As the city's only protection and military force, they are trusted among the people. That keeps the people of the city under the control of the light carriers at all times.

It is thanks to the light carriers that the city is still standing. If another war was to break out and Skeltan was somehow involved, they would be able to protect their people from anything that were to threaten their safety. The city mainly keeps to itself and is self reliant but there has been talk among the light carriers of expansion into the land. The city is becoming too small for the growing and thriving population. Now the light carriers seek ways of expansion but to do that they will also need to strengthen their forces.

Religion

The people of Skeltan city believe in a god called Ackles who is the god of darkness and shadows. He is believed to bring the mist and the cold that surrounds the city. The religion fights against light which forces the ordinary people of the city to stay away from it. This light includes the light of the sun. People will not leave their houses if it is sunny outside. Luckily for them, Skeltan is situated in a region where it is more often than not, covered with a dark cloud. The Sketanians have learned to be nocturnal. They will only come out after sunset and go about their lives under the light of the full moon and the stars that litter the night sky.

Luckily for them, this offers enough light for them to go about their nightly tasks. Most of the normal citizens are only responsible for sewing warm clothes, curing leathers, drying fish and kelp from the sea and various other things that do not require fire or leaving the mist that protects the city. Ackles, the god of shadow and darkness, was born from the light but demons saw the light and came rushing for him. He cloaked himself in darkness which allowed him to escape the demons.

He looked down upon the earth and saw that people were being attacked and plagued by demons too so he taught his people to kill the light and only allowed the strongest of warriors born under the light of the full moon, blessed by the moon, to carry the light. He gave them each two blades to use against their enemies and taught them how to fish, hunt and kill their enemies. He taught them medicine and herbs to use to cure ailments. That is why today Ackles has a place in the hearts of every single citizen in the city. Their god saved them and even brought down the mist to cloak them against the eyes of their enemies.

They have learned from the words of the prophets how they are meant to honor the god that saved them from the demon horde. Once the kin’toni were released upon the empire and the Skeltan people caught and burned their first kin’toni, they began to refer to these beings as the demons. Now they actually had something physical that they could burn to represent the demons. Many of the kin’toni are aware of the city and they are also aware of how well protected the citizens are. Many kin’toni will avoid going near the city since they have heard their kin’s screams from being burned alive.

As the days grow colder and the mist thickens, the kin’toni have avoided this place but the people believe that this is all a sign that their god is on his way back to his people to cloak the entire world in the mist that would allow them to more easily capture and kill the demons they have spent thousands of years fighting against. They know the cold age is coming but they don't fear it. They welcome it and the god that is coming with it.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Skeltan City Zu'aan

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