Iaos Tribal Zu'aan

History

The origin story of the Iaos tribal zu'aan dates back to around the years of 4E 485, when a group of zu'aan that represented the ancestors of the Iaos tribal zu'aan first began settling within a more organized region; a region that took place on the river beds along a set of lowlands that had quite a medium temperature. Among those zu'aan, we often saw quite a split and complex society, with groups of river merchants and monks that inhabited the same space and were, thankfully, able to live in peace despite their extremely different lifestyles.

Though sadly, that same peace that they put so much effort into creating and maintaining came crashing down in the year of 4E 487.In this year, a massive and extremely militaristic tribe of zu'aan, that called themselves a fair empire, began an extremely bloodthirsty campaign of forced conscription and privatization of the rivers and riverbanks; a campaign that came with the threat that if the tribes along the riverbed didn't concede to the empire's demands, they would not only have to face extreme limitations to their trade.

Having the territory they could go through be blocked and have many of their trading allies placed behind prohibited access; but they would also have to face their iron and steel as a consequence. Within such a predicament, the ancestors to the Iaos tribal zu'aan clearly had to make a decision, and from such necessity, a member birthed from the combination of both of the tribe's extreme cultural differences rose to prominence; that being a zu'aan who went by the name of Xaowia Dolat.

An extremely skillful navigator of the rivers for merchants who was also extremely well endowed in terms of the monk theology of the tribe. Xaowia proposed that the tribe's zu'aan use a flotilla up the mainstream of their largest river, going against all odds and riding into the death-filled white north; a region feared by many who had lived within the region, including the empire and their forces. Thus, in the year of 4E 45, the same year where the empire planned to finally strike the Iaos' trade system.

The tribe and Xaowia Dolat executed their plan and flew their watercrafts upstream at such great speed during the nights, going through countless different ecosystems, often having to duel with kin'toni clans that lurked during nighttime, simply keeping up this speed until reaching the Oelde Snowy Coniferous Forest, where the refugees had to halt their water travels due to how their river seemed to be fully replaced by ice in the region. Many were expected to die, but the tribe's leader never quit his mission of keeping everyone protected until a new settlement was organized;.

Of course, his efforts weren't perfect, considering many casualties still took place, but they definitely weren't in vain either; considering that by the year of 4E 52, the tribe had done its fair share of efforts into setting up a completely new outpost from a biome that offered nothing. From their secret location, many companies were set up with the purpose of distributing the resources of this forbidden region among other zu'aan societies with often exorbitant prices despite how common the same materials were in the Oelde Snowy Coniferous Forest, taking the example of their glass industry.

Psychology

The psychological framework of the Iaos tribal zu'aan is revolved around a unique blend between all of the different axioms of culture the tribe provides, allowing for the combination between the monastic detachment of the more religious monks and the fluidity, flexibility, and sometimes even manipulative methodologies of the tribe's merchants; this makes it so the Iaos are often seen by outsider zu'aan as a series of extremely organized zu'aan who, while having a deep sense of contradictions within their established logic.

Still allow for the creation of an environment that is gentle yet still movable, such as the rivers of their previous home. A very usual analysis given to the psyche of the tribe comes from how a direct byproduct of their history and cultural blends leads to their emotional development to be, funnily enough, comparable to their ecological environment; seeing how the Iaos tribal zu'aan possess quite a resilient psychological state, one that recognizes the incredible and massive, undeniable fragility of the zu'aan heart, but believes that emotions should still be shaped to behave just like the Oelde River.

By being transparent as though kept in a glass, and capable of moving and freezing without breaking, as though it came from liquid. This leads to a tribe that is seen as quite chill, laid-back, and slow to anger, leading to a lot of zu'aan who are extremely good at mediating and promoting analytical patience. The ego of the Iaos tribal zu'aan is extremely communal by its nature, often being inspired by a notion that defends the creation of a monastic community, following a structure that attempts to remove even the smallest ideals of individualism, even by making it so within their vocabulary, the primary singular pronoun is often unused.

All of this contributes to a couple of interesting phenomena within the psyche and behavior of the members of the Iaos tribal zu'aan, seeing how they feel a deep sense of comfort when belonging beside a group of their own kind and even of other zu'aan (some would argue they'd feel comforted alongside kin'toni as well, that is if they weren't such an aggressive species), but it also leads to a couple of drawbacks, such as a deep sense of distress if they are separated from a group or forced to deal with loneliness.

All of these combined senses that were developed within the psychological framework of the Iaos tribal zu'aan also contribute to how they have an extremely high degree of external intuition, basically fully developing their gut senses to a max when it comes to a plethora of things; oftentimes being able to call out when predators are approaching or when someone might be about to slip on ice. The Iaos feel uneasy about many different things in their daily lives and while, yes, many mistakes and false predictions can be made.

They still have a sense of self-pride (contradicting their attempts at removing ego) in the fact they're able to protect each other from potential danger by predicting it.

Culture

The cultural outlook of the Iaos tribal zu'aan allows for the development of an extremely vibrant and strikingly colored expression on a canvas that can be, and is, as white, monochrome, and empty-colored as the very snow around them; a society that celebrates the very contrast that is so distinguishable in how they express themselves, basically the warmth found within the middle path at an extremely dichotomized crossroads, which allows for them to elevate their cultural standards by being able to claim their high skills around balancing not only that whole colored structure but also.

Within a more poetic and anthropological sense, the ascetic discipline of their monks with the cheerful and adaptive, more swinging spirits of their merchants. The most striking and important event within the culture of the Iaos is one that happens within a cycle that repeats itself every single year; it is seen as the most crucial event that is done as a way to bring together all the members of the tribe and guarantee that the society agrees upon the necessary terms to keep shaping themselves into the necessary collective well-being that other members might demand.

This event takes place when the moon is at its peak during the thawing after the harshest period of winter; in this festival, the tribe members often carve intricate lanterns out of translucent ice, each one carrying a slow-burning candle inside it; during the festival, lots of these lanterns are released onto the river as it begins to melt again, representing how the tribe members are ready to let go of all the challenges they faced from the previous years, agreeing to trust the flow of life and its decisions on their future.

Another one of the main cultural expressions of the tribe is their traditions regarding both their culinary and their dining etiquette, much of it being directly inspired by how their ancestors behaved; one of their most distinguishable meals is a glutinous, starchy set of edible fungi with some leftover meat that are combined into hearty, steamed stews that are often eaten upon the riverbeds of the tribe, which is something not only done in rituals, but upon nights when small celebrations might take place, such as a child's birthday or a hunter's ability to catch bigger prey.

All follow a very communal logic that often also places the demand of being a hands-only affair; eating is also done in circles, with many tribe members even sharing the same mat to make sure they see each other as equal. Overall**,** the very cultural aesthetic of the tribe is also placed upon the influence of their clothing style, where most of their clothes are woven from inner fibers of the trees in the Oelde Snowy Coniferous Forest and wool taken from different goat species in the same region.

These clothes are often dyed with brilliant dyes of strong and contrasting colorations, such as bright oranges, that allow the Iaos to clearly view each other within the monochromatic background of their environment.

Government

The governance form of the Iaos tribal zu'aan allows them to operate and maintain their entire societal structure that is built upon the contrast between the extremely communal and religious monks and the mercantile circles of society, basically allowing for a balanced manner of sharing power via a series of agreements between spiritual leaders and the economic drivers of the tribe; this all is done via a philosophy that attempts to ensure that neither party is able to pursue the interests of the other nor to expand its own interests to the point where it becomes an ill to deal with at a tribal level, all done within the means of preventing any possible instability created from internal conflict.

The highest expression of political power might seem to make it so politics and the government lean more towards the economic side than the religious side, but the name is given mainly as a poetic form to refer back to Xaowia Dolat, who is regarded as a strong cultural remark of the tribe along with a national hero; this highest expression is named the High Navigator, which, in classical political science terms, is the one responsible for occupying the position within the executive power branch.

It is a position that is cycled every decade and chosen via a direct democratic vote; the only eligible members for this position are members of the tribe that are both able to manage their own enterprise within the trading world and elevate themselves spiritually by either remaining or becoming a monk, depending on their background; this body of policy is responsible for being the final arbiter in the disputes between the potential parties within the tribe that may come up, simply holding the responsibility to ensure that any tribal movement aligns with both the economic sector and the spiritual belief system of the tribe.

These conflicts between the two parties are the most expressive within the legislative power sector of the tribe, where half of the seats within the tribe's council are occupied by spiritual leaders who are responsible for giving out tutoring and classes to the tribe's members that desire to follow the path of a monk, and the other half is occupied by the richest merchants who are responsible for holding the highest amount of fixed capital and are fundamental cogs for the trade and the economic functioning of the tribe.

Which in theory might be something that allows for a lot of compromises to be made for the good of the entire tribe, but the interests of these two groups clash quite often, which challenges any notions of progress and/or change made within the tribe's history. The judicial system, other than regulating the laws and being responsible for the public service around judgements and trials, is responsible for the management of the chaos that the tribe's council can have, basically being the mediators between the many conflicts in congress.

The members of the judicial system are prohibited from being from either mercantile or monk backgrounds, to ensure their positions remain within an attempt at philosophical neutrality.

Military

The military of the Iaos tribal zu'aan allows for one of the most intricate analyses of a style of self-defense that contains an extremely kinetic nature; following a logic that isn't based around building and setting up walls or holding ground with standard and classic armies, instead, they basically see warfare as a playground for them to have fun on by utilizing all their high-speed toys that are shaped like frozen rivers; this takes away the serious point of warfare and normalizes a doctrine that builds itself upon the idea that the enemy simply cannot control or combat something that is so playful, since it'll simply hold too much energy to be caught.

The primary force controlled by the armed forces of the Iaos tribal zu'aan is a series of troops trained within the cavalry sector, utilized as a means to increase the tribe's striking force against any enemy wall or defense; the animals mounted by the Iaos are often trained to specifically be able to glide through the frozen floors and rivers. These troops' steeds are also equipped with dyed runners that allow them to create a stark visible contrast as they achieve terrifying speeds within a region that could only be seen as a vector for slipping.

All by the simple power of zipping past enemy formations and striking terrifying volleys of arrows and quickly placed stabbing attacks, all before their enemies can even draw their swords. The whole contrast that is responsible for shaping how the Iaos have come to organize themselves is also clearly seen within the organization of their military structure; it is seen how the monks' doctrines are followed within the training processes of many of their armed forces (something seen as not only a cultural reproductive method but also as a way to shield the soldiers psychologically from any issues that may come up).

While the mercantile side of the operation focuses a lot on providing, through the usage of profits, better and better weaponry for the tribe to utilize, sometimes even trading in different labor forces and bringing the tribe new warriors. This turns into the tribe's product, which is a training to master the individual's inner fire; something done in both a figurative and literal sense, being the preparative process that allows the troops to submerge themselves in any amount of cold for increasingly long amounts of time without succumbing to hypothermia.

Which allows for the tribe to utilize what snow tribes are famous for: camouflage.

Religion

The religion of the Iaos tribal zu'aan is based around the development of a spiritual path that attempts to follow the river current as its main philosophical outlook, which is something done via the creation of a belief system that rejects the dogmatism presented by tribes that deny the river via praising the moments when those are frozen or dried (mostly tribes that are more up north); instead, the Iaos' system chooses to observe the universe and existence as an incredibly grand flowing river, one which contains a harsh reality which makes it so every individual of the tribe has to become disciplined to live within it.

The Iaos, unlike most common religious frameworks, don't worship a fixed and singular deity, instead choosing to shape their belief system around a concept that is utilized to regard a monad—this monad, which is a singularity that, in itself, contains everything that can be conceivable and that is. This monad, for the Iaos tribal zu'aan, is a concept all shaped around the idea of an ever-thaw: a small and delicate white rose that follows the philosophical logic of a monad; in believing that the world is shaped by them.

The Iaos declare that they believe the world was once a perfect place, where every element of the monad was utilized towards the construction of a proper society, unlike the one that is observable within the world of Taerel; though, during such a moment of perfection, an imprisonment happened that set the world into another direction. This moment being the creation of the first monad of the world, which was studied and adored by most of the zu'aan around it, until being captured and slowly having its energy drained off.

This capture, though, wasn't done by a mad scientist or a greedy bourgeois, it ,was something done by the universal force of the constant and great Frost that permeates all that is alive and dead within existence; this concept being so strong that it took the world from its flowing and warm state into what can only be comparable to a river; it was a moment where divinity breaks and frees itself from its existential cage by attacking the fundamental notions needed to justify a religious outlook.

Though, just because the great frost is a deity, doesn't mean their ideas went according to their own plan, especially when taking into account how much the Iaos' conceptual monad fought against the domination of the universe's cold. This is seen due to the fact that the first detected monad tried its best to fight against it, and within that battle, the first monad to be captured created an essence that the before-empty zu'aan lacked: it was a sense of warmth within their extremely weakened hearts, which is what inspires much of the moral code and monk principles the tribe chooses to follow.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown