Endirak Tribal Zu'aan

History

In the year of 4E 416, as the ancestors of the Iros Tribal zu'aan exited the Mosaryn Volcanic Island after the eruptions let out by the Mosaryn Volcano, we see that a group of individuals observe this evacuation as an opportunity to settle down in a region with a lesser amount of proper competition, and from this "opportunity" in a destroyed land is where the Endirak Tribal zu'aan begin their proper history. Though, even as many members saw such as an opportunity, it was still very up for debate.#

The ancestors of the Endirak Tribal zu'aan were a group of seafaring merchantmen responsible for a vast network of trading amongst many of the seas of Taerel before the moments of the Shattering, where commerce was deeply affected and the trade routes amongst zu'aan were mostly paused. It was, in terms of the consensus agreed on by many of the merchants, quite a foolish idea to give up their seafaring development, even despite the lowering usage of the markets and routes traced by them, often pointing to the flocks of boats that had enough food to ration for years on end.

But, history didn't give them a chance to decide between settling in such a remote and dangerous place and their previous home, it forced them into staying. In the year of 4E 418, in the height of the debate between remaining in the boats and settling within some more inner land, disaster struck the ancestors of the Endirak tribe, where, due to the volcanic activity promoted both by the nuclear winter and the Mosaryn Volcanic Island, a series of fire engulfed whirlwinds struck right at many of the ships controlled by the Endirak tribe whilst they were out in the sea.

This lead to many casualties and material damages that were hard to measure properly. The only lucky part of this whole ordeal was that many members of the tribe were in the just mentioned island, where they were responsible for accounting for some trades by a small number of citizens within the island and also cultivate amongst the still fertile soil of the Mosaryn Volcanic Island as to guarantee another month or so of rations for the mercantile classes of the tribe, but was quickly turned into a means for self-sustaining for the last few members of the tribe.

The zu'aan which survived and were now left standing at the Mosaryn Volcanic Island were forced to adapt, the few remaining members were, logically enough, agricultural workers, a few organizers that were basically joint administrators and ambassadors, and a couple of proper engineers, teachers, and each of the members' children, all of which were now seen of the leftover base of a once great empire of trade and goods. Those few members, with the developed intelligence promoted by the series of studies done by the tribe beforehand.

Led them to the realization that, in such hostile times, coordination must be keen amongst all zu'aan, which influenced how they slowly infiltrated the few zu'aan tribes in the island, understanding their functioning and adapting themselves into more powerful roles, all until the only hegemonic tribe on the Mosaryn Volcanic Island was that of the Endirak.

Psychology

The core functioning of the Endirak tribe is still deeply shaped by their previous lives as adventurers and merchants of the sea, which gives life to their previous history within their psyche. This is seen mostly on how the members of the Endirak still see life and its expressions as fully metaphysical things that can be measured via business transactions, which makes it so the members of this tribe are rarely ones to act without lucrative objectives, basically pushing altruism aside and replacing it by profit causes.

Be it in relationships or alliances, allowing for a psychology which is pragmatic yet extremely cold and sometimes unethical. This also makes them a tribe with extremely detached members, members of which are seen and compared almost to chameleon-like by their behaviour, since they are very often seen abandoning their own customs in replacement for whatever it is most suitable and more profitable for themselves, creating senses of fluid identities which have, historically, allowed the Endirak to be able to gain the power and expand themselves to the point they have today.

But, not only has it allowed their tribe to thrive, but has also made it so the zu'aan of the tribe are often regarded as natural manipulators, trained to read rooms and suppress emotions, mirroring the necessary expression that brings an advantage to them, social interactions basically translate to puzzles, where the Endirak see themselves as the pieces. Another psychological feature that was brought forward due to the tribe's history is how they have a constant strong fear of anything they can't predict or control.

Creating a dynamic around basically being control freaks, obsessive planners, all birthed due to their collective trauma birthed from the events that forced them onto the Mosaryn Volcanic Island. This notion translates to a generalized hate towards improvising and unpredictable things, or any sort of sudden expressions, all of it is seen as terrifying, which allows for the manifestation in a tribe that tries very hard to categorize, regulate and measure just about any sort of thing that can come up, all seen as a tool to ensure they're not caught off guard anymore.

This general anxiety is also spread on their perception around the environment they live in, since, due to living in a volcanic island, we often observe what can be described as highly functional anxiety; this is basically seen by how the members of the Endirak tribe are never truly at rest, they perceive their existence as something malleable and in constant danger, which prevents them from being completely relaxed. Subconsciously, we observe that they are always listening for any little detail that could be able to spell doom.

Be it rumbling of the earth or by simply sniffing the air in days where the air is more humid or perhaps drier, which makes it so the zu'aan of this tribe are extremely pushy and sometimes easily aggravated, being extremely sensitive to the environment around them, where any abnormal loud noise can push the tribe into panic quite easily.

Culture

The culture created and developed by the Endirak Tribal zu'aan also follows many of what has been historically established within the tribe, we see this firsthand even at their day-to-day etiquette and their choices around clothing, the main feature which is highlighted within their tribe is the usage of masks as a guarantee for air filtration since, the air in the Mosaryn Volcanic Island, is extremely sulfur and ash heavy, which forces them to use accessories as a means for air filtration.

Coming with the contrast of their faces barely being seen in public; even despite this, those masks are seen as the most essential item of clothing, their fibers and charcoal filters, along with treated leather last over generations and even become symbols, and the act of taking it off is a deep show of both respect and intimacy to the people around the zu'aan in that moment. Their architecture also reflects more of what makes the Endirak the tribe they've evolved into, we observe how their intelligence allowed for them to create hyperadaptive architecture in relation to the landscape provided by the Mosaryn Volcanic Island.

This is seen clearly by their systems of building any sort of units or establishments, where they use basalt columns around the island as a basis, almost as if they were by themselves pre-cut bricks, allowing for the creation of cities that follow nature's favorite shape, hexagons, making hive-like settlements all around the Mosaryn Volcanic Island, and also building within them, just how they do with the masks, complex ventilations systems utilizing pre-modern thermal technology, something also utilized for heating during winters and even types of saunas for more luxurious parts of the tribe.

Their cuisine is also extremely adapted to the environment where they live, drawing directly from the fruits given by the Mosaryn Volcanic Island, and not only in the meals themselves but also in cooking methods, where they take their highly developed heating systems as fountains of cooking heat, since trees are extremely rare in that ecosystem, thus needing a replacement for wood; this is illustrated very clearly in how they often seem to lower sealed pots made from regional clay into those steam releasing circulation systems they've made.

Allowing for primitive ways of slow cooking food, which allows for the creating and distribution of heavy diets of stews and fatty meats, which allows for a cuisine that is extremely flavorful, diverse, healthy, all despite their focus on the basics due to the lack of the resources seen in the Mosaryn Volcanic Island. Another touch which shapes their cultural outlook of things is undoubtedly the tribe's education system, which overly focuses on the formation of individuals in careers in engineering and diplomacy.

Things that are tested since childhood to determine those with a higher likelihood of pursuing such careers in more effective manners; this, in contrast, makes it so things such as physical strength are often belittled as things left over for laborers.

Government

The government style that's responsible for watching over the Endirak Tribal zu'aan designs itself around the individuals that were, according to the tribe, known as those that were, historically, those most responsible for the progress the tribe was able to make throughout the years of the Shattering Age, those members being seen almost such as wardens, and were composed of some of the highest-ranking engineers, geologists, agricultural workers and economists, basically acting as a board of directors that's acknowledged politically as the head of state.

They're responsible for decisions that are often based on metrified means and data simulations, often regarding things such as the volcano's activity or kin'toni activity around the Mosaryn Volcanic Island. The relation between citizens and governing force is acted out through a series of well-established contractual relations, which are regulated by the very constitutional rights established by the director board of the tribe; though, these relations aren't guaranteed for all citizens, not even for those within the legal breach of birthrights,.

They're often based around the thesis that political power and influence should only begin at the age where an individual can contribute as an agent to the tribe, which, translating for more colloquial terms would be upon reaching adulthood, when every zu'aan has to pledge their skills and labor to the collective force of the tribe, all in exchange for things such as air-filters, housing units and rations. Governing and bureaucracy is expressed on the daily within reflections of the tribe's overall psychology on attempting to overcontrol every measure they're able to.

Illustrated best by the government's attempts to micromanage just about every single little thing that goes on every day as a measure that's seen to be done to "avoid destruction". This is done via a massive administrative class that is given the responsibility of keeping watch on water usage, and even weighing food rations down to the very gram with the technology that's available, keeping track of long complex schedules, all creating a sense of not only hyper-regulation but hyper-vigilance.

Something that has been naturalized amongst most of the members of the tribe as a means to prevent any disaster from destroying their land. The justice system reflects another core concept of this tribe's functioning, this time its transactional nature and overall financial treatment of things within the society, best illustrated by how crimes aren't treated as something that are wrong due to their moral condemnability or a sort of sin factor, instead being seen as a series of debts.

Which means that individuals with higher income are able to get away, systematically, with higher amounts of crime; this is done in a manner that is seen to be a positive for the tribe since an individual will be paying back by the crime they do, often times in higher ways than the damage properly done, and it also saves them up in the need of building prisons and hiring guards, all being considered by a means of profit, almost as if their merchant nature never left.

Military

When it comes to the doctrine defended by the military and armed forces as an institution established within the Endirak Tribal zu'aan, a core concept is followed and it is one that extends notions around the concept of micromanaging the necessary means to prevent disaster amongst the tribe and the Mosaryn Volcanic Island in general. This is discussed thoroughly via the main points of the expenses and unpredictability related to conflict in general, and even the very dangers related to going in direct contact warfare,.

Which develops strategies around killing the enemy before they're ever able to approach any kind of Endirak citizens, giving even more space for the masterful engineering some members of the tribe tend to display. Their main line of defense encompasses geologists responsible for the utilization of the landscape as a primary weapon of defense, utilizing the geography around the Endirak as a strong shield, utilizing the rough yet muddy terrain as ways for stunning enemies in place,.

Creating boxes with artificial types of valleys to trap enemies and sometimes even redirecting lava in tubes once kin'toni can't climb out to toast them alive, basically reinforcing the thesis of combating without any risk given to zu'aan soldiers themselves, instead of training them around close quarters combat, the main focus is around excavation, demolition, or even the usage of rocks as a means of defense. They also developed quite a terrifying tactic around one of the biggest dangers which plague the Shattering Age and the zu'aan in such period as a whole.

Where the Mosaryn Volcano is weaponized, its fumes being redirected with the piping systems the tribe has already developed, passing by a series of bellows where sulfur, carbon dioxide and other harmful gases are redirected via vents onto the enemies of the Endirak tribe; they also utilize these pipes as a way to redirect things such as simple suffocating gases, or things such as mustard gas to a limited degree, which are all tactics that are particularly strong against kin'toni, burning their eyes and limiting their breathing capacity while working in groups very effectively.

Now, while a huge highlight should be given to their utilizing of engineering and of the landscape around them, one of their strongest weapons is their physical brigades as well, guards that are utilized to a lower amount and placed in critical places around the tribe, their purpose is mainly to hold back hordes of kin'toni in the critical scenario where other defenses fail and the members of the tribe need time to bail. These physical troops wear sets of strong iron-based armor, which is extremely heavy, limiting their movement.

But acts for what it's supposed to, providing excellent protection against hordes of kin'toni and still operating nicely under lots of pressure and excessive warmth, all serving the sole purpose of guaranteeing escapes to occur in moments where the tribe has been breached, where these assigned soldiers know themselves as an expendable asset to guarantee the well-being of the rest of the tribe; so far, their usage was never necessary.

Religion

The theology as was developed within the Endirak tribe is one focused around many of their already established psychological and cultural dynamics around concepts of control and of fear of whatever is unpredictable, all tying back to the phenomena caused by the very structure of the Mosaryn Volcanic Island, where many of the social structures and norms are shaped around concepts of trying to contain the inherent chaos existence can bring upon zu'aan when not measuring things to a pulp, and that sort of metrification, of control, and of safety is what they worship.

Just the overall metaphysical concept of perfect order, logic, of perfect geometrical symmetry. In contrast, for the followers of the Endirak's religious belief, what is nominated the closest to a plain deity is the concept of chaos, that arrived upon the universe once it was perfect and placed entropy upon it, it forced upon a symmetrical universe an unclean order of forceful dismantling, starting by placing unpatterned means all along it and slowly evolving into the unpredictable amounts of wrathful chaos that the Endirak tribe attributes to the Shattering Age and the kin'toni as a whole.

One of the biggest manifestations of such chaos is the very Mosaryn Volcano, something that is rawly unshaped and destructive. It is believed that the Endirak hold a divine order responsible for combating the world's now inherent chaotic world, as a means to restore what was once a perfectly calculated, measured and predictable existence, which is expressed thoroughly by what is considered to be the believers' moral code, where any sort of correlation to sin is something that can be associated with being misaligned with whatever the order for what is considered perfection by the clergy is.

Be that lying, stealing, or be seen acting emotional in an explosive level, all is placed and considered unstable for the structure of the soul and of the tribe, which creates the thesis that a righteous zu'aan is one who is upright and balanced, an ethical being is a being that contributes to stability. As the clergy was previously mentioned, it is important to detail about their crucial role within the religious institution's functions within the tribe, and, in the case of the Endirak.

We observe the priesthood operating in an almost indistinguishable manner from the director board responsible for the governing body of the tribe, where they exist within the tribe with the role of constantly measuring and inspecting the abouts of what goes on in the Endirak's territory, often carrying tools of measurement, such as compasses or rulers as holy symbols, the difference being that instead of being such as the bureaucratic means of the government body, the dysregulation they find are those of morality amongst members.

And instead of forgiving or teaching better ways, they force the members into audits, forcing them into trials where they're forced to understand the propositional logic behind their own failures, often these trials can go even for days if the individual caught by a clergy member isn't very well versed in that philosophical field.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Endirak Tribal Zu'aan

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