Adightkim City Zu'aan

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History

The history of the Adightkim zu'aan is a simple one. There isn’t much that they don’t do that doesn’t follow the traditional values of the other zu'aan cities. They are a city that believe that there is nothing better than being the same as the other zu'aan, although over time, their lives changed in a big way when they discovered that there were naturally growing herbs in their water that caused their skin to take on a light purple hue when they would bathe in the water for too long. There were some zu'aan who were scared of the herbs, thinking that they were going to be hurt, but once it was determined that the only side effect was that their skin would change to purple, they weren’t worried any longer.

Eventually, the purple hue the zu'aan took on became a part of who they were as a city. They would go to the water, and they would bathe in it for many hours to ensure their skin was as purple as it could possibly be. Not everyone was as infatuated with bathing as others, which led to their being zu'aan that were far more purple than others. While it wasn’t an issue, it was an interesting sight as just looking at them would easily reveal which of the zu'aan were more devoted. The longer the infatuated zu'aan would bathe in the water, the more they hoped that the purple hue would become who they were, and their children would be born purple. It never happened, however, but that didn’t stop the zu'aan from trying. They wanted to be as unique as possible.

Aside from the herbs in the water, there was nothing that set the Adightkim city apart from others. They were a relatively docile city, uninterested in wars or politics between cities. That wasn’t to say that the Adightkim zu'aan wouldn’t participate in battles or in war when there was the opportunity, but they wouldn’t start them or get involved until they needed to. They didn’t want to be known as fighters, but they wanted to make sure it was known that they would defend their land and homes if they needed to. There were few times when they needed to step in to defend their home, so when they did, they would use as much force as they could to get what they wanted.

There was no cost spared when they felt the need to use their force, but it was only after great consideration and debate that they would do so. It took a unanimous vote from all 5 members of the council for the decision to be made, and the only time it could be usurped was in the event that an emergency truly became life or death. When they did send in their forces, it was only for a short time before they would bring them back, choosing not to continue to engage in battling unless there was further need. The Adightkim zu'aan didn’t believe in needless fighting.

Psychology

Psychologically, the Adightkim zu'aan believed heavily that they would be able to turn the purple hue into a dominant gene, so they didn’t have to bathe in the lake water to continue to be purple. There were many of the zu'aan that were so committed to being purple that they would bathe in the water until their skin was wrinkled and they were swollen from the water. They would do this multiple times a day as much as they felt the need to, especially when they weren’t busy with other projects around the city. Not every zu'aan was as infatuated with the purple lifestyle, although there were some that didn’t want it at all. It wasn’t a mandatory thing for them bathe in the water.

bBt when there were zu'aan that would go multiple months without bathing, allowing their skin to turn back to its normal beige, they would be harassed and constantly asked by other zu'aan why they weren’t participating. At one point there was a group of zu'aan that would seek out the other zu'aan that weren’t bathing in the lake, and they would kidnap them, intending to torture them until they agreed that they were going to bathe. The torture they would inflict on other zu'aan was so bad that they had to hide it from the government as they knew they would be kicked out of the city or imprisoned for it. There was nothing that could be done for them if they were to get caught, so they would go to any length to ensure they wouldn’t.

They would sneak around, and they would hide away the zu'aan they’d kidnapped, lying to their families, and saying there was nothing that was happening. It was odd that there were zu'aan who were so fanatic about something as small as being purple, but they believed it was a gift from the heavens that allowed them to find the lake with the herbs that turned their skin to purple. They believed they were the only ones that were meant to find it and that they needed to use the gift they were given, or they would be punished. Because of this, there was nothing they wouldn’t do to ensure everyone was participating, no matter what it took. Sometimes, the torture would take the form of waterboarding the zu'aan who didn’t want to participate so they had no option but to succumb to the torture that was being inflicted on them.

Eventually, they would end up ingesting enough of the water that they would either die by drowning, or they would have enough in their system to appease the zu'aan that had kidnapped them.b Aside from their beliefs that would cause them to kidnap other zu'aan and force them to succumb, the Adightkim zu'aan lived a fairly normal life. They would each have their routines that would take up most of their days and led them to taking care of their normal chores. There were some zu'aan in the clan that had mental impairments, although they weren’t commented on because there was no reason to make them feel as though they were any different than the other zu'aan in the city.

Unless there was a mental impairment that caused a zu'aan to be violent or otherwise incapable of being offered the same opportunities as other zu'aan, then they weren’t treated any differently. Everyone was entitled to the same treatment as that was what was deemed to be the fairest for everyone.

Culture

Culturally, the Adightkim zu'aan weren’t abnormal zu'aan. They followed many of the same routines and culture factors as other zu'aan cities, allowing them to blend in despite being physically different. They were a proud community of zu'aan that took their health and wellbeing into consideration whenever they made a decision, and they always made sure they were happy with their lives with regular council meetings. There wasn’t anything especially unique about their weddings, funerals, or baptisms, aside from the fact that they would always make sure to incorporate their lake water into the various ceremonies. For a wedding, they would shower in the water at the end of the ceremony as they walked back through the streets.

This was done by zu'aan standing on rooftops and balconies throwing cups of water over the newly wed couple as they walked past. It was normal for the couple to be completely drenched by the time they got to their home to enjoy their wedding night, as hundreds of zu'aan would volunteer to shower the couple. For funerals, it was customary to soak the deceased in the lake water for several days in a tub to ensure they were as purple as possible before they would be buried or cremated, depending on the wishes of the family. Typically, a zu'aan would be cremated following their soaking, as this would ensure there was no way they would lose any of their purple colouring by sitting in a box in the ground.

If they were cremated right away, they would be able to be their usual purple selves in the afterlife, if there was one for them to enjoy. For baptisms, the Adightkim zu'aan would follow the same customs as other, more traditional zu'aan cities. Usually, a baptism would take place when a zu'aan was a young child and they would have their head dipped in a pool of water. For the Adightkim zu'aan, the only difference was that the water would be from the lake, and the infant zu'aan would be left in the water until they had a halo of purple on their heads. Because of this, it would be easy to distinguish the baptised zu'aan from the others that hadn’t been yet.

Of course, there were some that would fake their infant’s baptism because they didn’t want to pay for an official to baptise their child, although it wasn’t always something that was an issue for them. A baptism wasn’t a legal requirement, but there was a lot of pressure on new parents to perform one since there were many others that had already done it and so it would become an expectation on a new parent to have their child baptised. Aside from the typical rituals, there wasn’t much that the Adightkim zu'aan would do that was out of the ordinary. Celebrations were open for all zu'aan to participate in, especially birthdays for those that were well known in the community.

When there was a lesser known zu'aan that was having a birthday or another celebration, a more popular one would invite more of their friends so the zu'aan with less friends could enjoy themselves more, even if only for a night.

Government

Within the government of the Adightkim city, there were 5 elected officials that would oversee everything that happened within the city. They were all of equal importance, and they always handled everything together, even if they weren’t always in the same place at the same time. There were 5 officials, as it was the smartest option for them to minimize any and all conflict within the city. It hadn’t always been this way, but it was what worked, and so it was the longest standing set up of the government to date. Before they had come to their agreement on how many officials they wanted to have, there was a group of zu'aan that gathered, all with the belief that the government wasn’t doing enough and that they should be the rightful leaders.

Because there were so many changes in leaders, this group of zu'aan believed their government was vulnerable and that they needed to step in and infiltrate the government to secure it and make it better. Even though this was their belief, it didn’t mean that the government was weak, it simply meant they were working on having enough resources to accommodate the leaders and ensure they were meeting the needs of the city. When a leader wouldn’t do what was best for the city or would try to change too many things, they would be stripped of their position as leader and asked not to try again.

Since the group of zu'aan believed they would be able to infiltrate the government and take over on their own terms, they planned to hit the officials with their demands and take over when it was least expected in hopes to catch them off guard and win. This didn’t work for them, however, as when they started their attack, they were quickly thwarted by a member of the city guard who was sitting outside of the council chambers on the night they began their attack. He could have let the zu'aan go through and continue on their attack, but he was adamant on keeping the city safe. The city officials had their own garb as well to ensure they were recognised by the other zu'aan, as it was imperative that they were recognised as the leaders of the city.

If there ever was a time when they weren’t recognised and they were disrespected, then the zu'aan responsible for the comment would be jailed. This often led to misunderstandings, and so an official garb was implemented so that this would not happen. There were no other clothes allowed in the city that looked similar to the outfit that an official wore, as it was seen as the zu'aan was trying to impersonate them, and thus action would be taken against them. As well as the outfits, there was a group of guards that would constantly be following the officials around to ensure they weren’t being threatened. They were called the city guard, and their job was to ensure the safety of the officials and nothing else.

Military

The Adightkim zu'aan prided themselves on having a more traditional military. They had hundreds of zu'aan who were soldiers and were trained to fight, even if there was no need. The leaders of the military, as well as the city officials, believed in being prepared as there was never a warning before an attack would take place. Therefore, they never wanted to be unprepared, and so they would religiously train their military to be able to endure any attack that could happen to them at any time. Training would consist of running and combat training in any weather, as well as holding their breaths under the water of the lake for as long as possible. Sometimes, they would go off into different parts of their lands to continue to train, ensuring they were able to hold down their city if there was ever an attack against them.

Occasionally, they would ask a zu'aan from the city to simulate that they had been kidnapped by a kin’toni or by another zu'aan city, and they would perform their routines to save the zu'aan to ensure they remembered their routines and the steps it took to carry them out. As well as their training routines, they would carry out other random drills that would allow them to be best prepared for any attack that could possibly happen. Sometimes this meant sounding the alarms at random times of the night to wake the soldiers up and make sure they were prepared within a certain amount of time. No detail was spared when they were readying their military. The best members of the military would be assigned to the city guard.

What made them best would be getting ready faster than the others when there were random drills, having quicker reflexes, and having a better combat sense. The officials wanted to make sure they always had the best of the best watching over them and keeping them safe, so they would frequently test and retest the city guard to ensure they were going to be as safe as possible. The members of the city guard didn’t care, and they soon adapted to the random tests, performing well under the pressure of the official’s eyes on them. As well as the 5 officials, the city guard was garbed in specific robes or armor that allowed any and all zu'aan to know who they were with only a glance.

They wore shinier, newer armor than the soldiers in the army, as they took pride in their appearance around the city. The soldiers, however, didn’t care if their armour looked dinged up, as to them it was all a part of being in the military and it was their job to be ready at all times, rather than looking pretty for the leaders of the government. There were times when the city guard would be laughed at by the other soldiers, but that was quickly put to rest when the city guard would quickly quiet the laughter and ensure it never happened again. This either happened by threats, or there would be occasional duels that would take place after the officials had gone to bed for the night.

Religion

Many of the zu'aan in the Adightkim city believed that the herbs in the water were left for them to find and that it was fate for them to receive them as a gift. There were others that believed it was simply a matter of chance that the herbs were there, but the believers far outnumbered the nonbelievers and quickly, claims of that sort were found to be blasphemy. Since there were so many believers of the religion that seemed to be growing, the only thing that could happen was for them to continue to believe and bathe in the water. There were some that were so devoted that they spent more time in the water than out of it, only getting out when they would have to sleep or use the bathroom, as they didn’t want to contaminate the water with their fecal matter.

If there were any nonbelievers that wouldn’t bathe in the water, thus allowing their skin to return to a more natural, tan color, they would be hunted down and kidnapped by the believers and tortured until they gave in and admitted that they did believe, even if it was a lie. There were some that would go so far as to bathe in the water and drink it in the presence of the most intense believers, despite not believing themselves, as then they would be able to get the believers to vouch for them to the others and they would be off the hook for a while. Even though the herbs were naturally occurring, there were elders that would try to “preserve” the water as best they could, especially since they didn’t want to risk any contaminants coming into contact with the water in general.

This meant that they would make anyone that wanted to bathe in the water get rinsed off before they climbed into the water, and usually, they would have to be naked as there was no way to know what contaminants were in their clothing. Usually, the zu'aan wouldn’t complain as it was easier for them to succumb than to be sentenced to being tortured until they gave in to the rules and demands. These overly religious zu'aan were often called crazy and would be reported to the government for being a “danger” to the city. The officials would always listen to the complaints but would typically reply in saying that there was nothing they could do since the lake was towards the middle of the city, and there were no occurrences of torture that had been witnessed by an official.

Since they knew how to keep the torture away from the officials, the intense believers of their religion would often bathe for longer on the days following a torture session so there was no suspicion placed on them. They would get away with it as well as there were many zu'aan who could see that they were in the lake, and with their intense purple skin, there was no way they were leaving the water so frequently to torture others, so they would get away with it and carry on how they had been.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Adightkim City Zu'aan

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