Fyleri City Zu'aan

History

Since the zu'aan from the YBZ Quagmire had built their city, they didn’t believe in going anywhere near the swampy areas. They had seen many others get stuck in the mud and get sucked into the ground in the marsh because of how soft the ground was and because of that, they wanted nothing to do with it. They weren't allowed to go near there for fear that they would get stuck and would end up passing away because the mud would suffocate them. This was something that was believed for many years until finally there was a zu'aan that was brave enough to challenge the laws.

Since there was no law stating that a zu'aan couldn’t swim in the waters of the swamp, there was one zu'aan that decided one day that they were going to dive in headfirst. When they did this, the rest of the zu'aan from Fyleri city were flabbergasted with what they had seen. They had no idea that there was going to be a zu'aan brave enough to jump in headfirst and go swimming in the waters of the swamp. They all stood there in shock as they watched this zu'aan swim around, seeming as though they were having fun. There was laughter and some of the other zu'aan started to think about joining this zu'aan in the water.

However, before they could, the zu'aan was bit by something in the water, and they called for medical attention as they swam ashore. There were many that believed this was an act of god, and that the zu'aan got what they deserved for going against the law and going into the water. Some of the zu'aan started to pray as the zu'aan left the water. As they did, it was revealed that they had a long gash on their shin that resembled a bite and ripped skin. While everyone stood there, the zu'aan took a handful of the mud from the swamp and slapped it onto the wound.

There was a long gasp as the other zu'aan from the city witnessed what had been done. The injured zu'aan preached about how the mud was going to heal them, and it did. While it took more than a couple days, the zu'aan kept applying fresh mud to the would and healed it faster than any of the medicine they had been able to develop up to that point. This left the zu'aan from the city in shock about what they had seen, and so they realized that the mud really wasn’t as bad as they had been told.

This began the evolution of the zu'aan that believed since they had healing mud, that they were untouchable. They believed that there was no wound they wouldn’t be able to fix, and because of this, they thought that they were never going to die, unless by natural causes, because they could heal everything else. They were so loud with their beliefs that they started drawing in other zu'aan, and thus started their reign of terror, believing that they were untouchable.

Psychology

Since the discovery that the mud in the quagmire had healing properties to it, the zu'aan from Fyleri city believed they would never be killed because they would simply heal with the mud. They started to believe that no matter what happened they would be able to fix themselves and wouldn’t have to worry about injuries.The only thing they didn’t like about the healing mud was that it wasn’t able to take away the scars they had from their wounds healing. They didn’t like the look of them and so they would cover their bodies with extra clothing in the areas where they had bigger scars.

Even though they were incredibly vain about their appearance with the scars, they would never stop themselves from going out and getting injured. Because they believed that they would just be able to heal themselves, they would intentionally get themselves into compromising situations. This was because they wanted to have fun with the knowledge that no matter how they hurt themselves, they would be fixed with the mud. It didn’t matter what they would do, they would want to fix it with the mud, and that was something that would become and issue for them.

Because they believed the mud would help them, they would spend more of their time in there and they wouldn’t come out for anything. This would lead to infections, diseases, and for a lot of them, death. While it was good for them to stay in the mud when they needed to heal, oftentimes they would do the same when they had bigger, more open wounds, which they wouldn’t receive any prior help with. They would dive into the mud and then would wonder why they would come out of the mud with an infection.

One of the things that they enjoyed the most about having the quagmire around them was that the more time they would spend covering themselves with mud, the harder it would be for any kin’toni to find them and kill them. The odor they let off was one that would make even the strongest zu'aan blush, as they were bathing in the same place that many animals would go so they could do their business. While that was something that many other zu'aan would think was gross, the zu'aan from Fyleri city liked it. When you were around them, everything about them smelled like a swamp, and so they believed that they wouldn’t have to worry about being eaten if they smelled that way.

The longer they spent in the mud, the more immortal they felt, and the more immortal they felt, the more likely they were to go off and do something that would get them killed. It was a vicious cycle for them, and because of it, most of the other zu'aan cities would ignore them or refuse to acknowledge their presence for fear that they would end up becoming like them.

Culture

Everything that the zu'aan from Fyleri city do revolves heavily around the mud that they bathe in every day. Because they're so attached to it and they like the way it heals them, they will spend more of their time doing things within the mud than out of it. There are some that have never been out of the mud because they were born into it. While there are some that must be out of the mud because they have other jobs to do, the rest of them choose to be in there because they don’t believe there is a reason for them to come out. Because of this, they have sectioned off a piece of the quagmire and they take care of it to make sure animals don’t get into it, and to make sure that when leaves or other plants get into it, they're able to clean it.

Since they spend their time at the quagmire, some of their homes have laid empty for a long time. there are some that have started to crumble and make the city look untouched while the quagmire looks as though it is teeming with life. There are some houses that they have started using to house herbs and other plants so that they stay out of the elements, since some of them need to be dried. These are herbs that they will use to add to the swamp to make it better when there are births, or for other healing properties.

It is a specific and special job that only certain zu'aan will do because some of the herbs have oils in them that can burn the skin of the zu'aan if exposed to it, since it isn’t something they can heal from in the mud. Because of this, there are only a few zu'aan that will do the job, and they will wear clothes that cover every inch of their skin. They will follow a specific pathway, and the other zu'aan know to avoid this so they don’t end up coming into contact with the oils. As well, there are many ceremonies that surround the mud. When a new zu'aan is born, they are usually born into the mud so they can have the best chance at life possible.

If there are any zu'aan that come to the city for a new life, they must bathe in the mud to become a part of the culture, and wedding happen, while they usually happen just beside the mud, the mud will be used to be painted on the faces of the bride and groom by each other when they say their vows. These traditions were something that were thought of by one of the first people to dive into the mud and say that it was healing for them. They decided to base their culture on the mud, and so the laws, rules, and ceremonies started to happen in the mud.

Government

While they made their culture about the mud, there were still things that they would have to do outside of it. There were several government buildings that were used for meetings, gatherings, and announcements for the people of the city. They wanted to stay in the mud, but because they would have to meet with zu'aan from other cities, they realized they needed to have a building or group of buildings that was designated to those meetings. The buildings that were built, were in fact build long before the zu'aan transitioned to spending more of their time in the swamp.

They had build them so they could conduct business and so that there was a building where zu'aan could take their complaints or concerns when they had them. Since they moved into the swamp, they had stopped going to many of the buildings unless they had to. This wasn’t something that worried them until the buildings started to dilapidate and fall apart. From then on, they started to keep a better eye on the way the buildings were being kept, more specifically their town hall so that they could make sure it was always in good repair.

The only other buildings or structures that were used frequently were the training grounds for the military, and some of the buildings that were used to store materials for the swamp. The final one was their barn that they used to keep their animals in, making sure they were able to be out of the elements and away from predators through the night. These buildings were upkept by a small team of zu'aan men that would inspect them every so often and make repairs where needed. Since the zu'aan from Fyleri city were so intent on their mud, there were strict laws that surrounded the swamp.

While there were some that lived in the mud, there was a law that stated if they were to stay in there long enough or for too long, they would have to change their job so that they would work in the mud, and they wouldn’t have the choice in doing so. If there were any zu'aan that were from other cities that needed to use the mud for healing, they would have to convert to Fyleri city so they could use it as the mud was used only for those that were a part of the city.

This angered zu'aan that would come to the city seeking refuge. They would be told that if they wanted the help of the mud, they would have to convert over to the city and follow their laws and regulations to be able to use the mud. It got to the point where there were some zu'aan that would start fights with the leaders of the government and the military would have to be called in to remove the zu'aan so they couldn’t hurt the leaders. While it didn’t happen often, there were always a few hot-headed zu'aan that never wanted to follow the laws that were put in place to protect and observe how much mud was being used.

Military

The military from Fyleri city seem to be just as power-hungry and adrenaline seeking as the rest of the zu'aan there. Because they know they have the mud to go to when they need to heal some wounds, they tend to get themselves into bad situations. They will intentionally go out of their way to throw themselves into the line of fire, knowing they can go back to their city and get into the mud. Because they feel as though they're untouchable, they will intentionally start fights and on occasion will go to other cities and terrorize the zu'aan there.

They will start fights with the other militaries, and on occasion have come close to starting battles because they just won’t leave the other zu'aan alone. Sometimes, because the houses in their own city aren’t being used, they will go around and raid them to see what’s in there. While this is usually fine, there have been times when they have tried to raid the houses of the government officials because they were looking for something to do. This was something that would consistently get them into trouble as they would steal from the leaders they worked for.

However, the government wouldn’t fire them because they wouldn’t want to lose their army members and because of this, there were more break ins that the government couldn’t do anything about. There had been a time when the members of the army had broken into a couple houses and accidentally started a fire in one of them. They were unable to put the fire out and it ended up spreading to other houses, some of which contained dried and drying herbs and plants to be used in the swamp. When this happened, there were many zu'aan from the city that expected the contributing members be fired for what they had done.

But all the leaders did was give the army a slap on the wrist and make them help build the supply back up. There was an uprising in the city and the regular members rose up to challenge the decision of the military. They were angry that their hard work had been burnt to the ground and that the leaders did nothing to punish the zu'aan who did it. The zu'aan wanted to see them fired or at least punished better than them only having to help gather back what they had lost. As this was happening, the government started to push back against the zu'aan.

They took action against the zu'aan of the city instead of taking action against the, and in doing so they almost lost many of their members because they didn’t want to stay and deal with what was happening. Because of this, the leaders fired the zu'aan that had participated in burning down the houses, preaching about how they were helping the zu'aan, only to rehire them months later.

Religion

The zu'aan from Fyleri city weren't overly religious. While they would pray and thank whichever god created the mud that would heal them, they were more keen on expecting things to happen just because they asked than they were on actually praying and thanking the god they were praying to. They took many things for granted, especially the use of the mud. There were a few zu'aan from Fyleri city that were incredibly religious. These zu'aan had written their own book on their religion and would take it around to the other zu'aan so they could preach about it.

They would go to the zu'aan that were in the mud and they would talk to them about how their god was the one that made it so that they could use the mud to heal, and that he was the one that gave them the knowledge to know which herbs were the ones they would have to harvest and dry so they could get the most out of the mud. Most of the zu'aan would ignore them, citing they had better things to do than sit there and listen to crazy zu'aan babbling on about a god that only might exist.

This didn’t bother the religious zu'aan because they believed they would get through to more zu'aan eventually and so they kept trying. Sometimes, the religious zu'aan would wander their way to the government buildings when there were meetings and such going on so they could preach to the other zu'aan that were visiting. While it was something that was seen as harmless at first, it started to become more frequent over time, and the leaders of the government became annoyed with their ramblings.

There were times when the religion they were preaching about was the only thing heard at some of the meetings because the religious zu'aan were adamant about teaching their religion to as many outside zu'aan as they could. Because of these outburst, many zu'aan from the other cities decided that they wouldn’t support their outbursts and found it quite rude of them to do, so they cut ties with the Fyleri zu'aan, stating that they needed to find zu'aan cities that would actually talk to them instead of getting them to convert to a different religion.

As a direct consequence to this, the Fyleri zu'aan lost many of their trade partners and their supplies. The government wasn’t happy about this and so they decided that while the zu'aan there were allowed to practice their religion as they see fit, they were no longer allowed to bring it to the government buildings. This was something that made the religious zu'aan mad as they believed they should be able to bring their religion wherever they wanted to. They wanted to start an uprising about it, but they quickly realized that there weren't enough zu'aan that believed in the religion the same as they did.

So instead they took their religion back to how they did previously, preaching it to other zu'aan that didn’t want to hear anything about it.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Fyleri City Zu'aan

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