Rinud City Zu'aan

History

The city of Rinud is set in the Celxra'kaosna Heathland. The heathland is an open plain filled with shrubbery and perfect for herd animals. The Heathland is a beautiful place that blooms with all the different kinds of flowers come spring time and is a sea of gold in the autumn. There are very few trees dotted around the landscape which is often wet during all seasons. The soil is acrid which makes it difficult to grow many crops. There are a few farms dotted around the landscape though but most definitely not enough to sustain the entire city.

The city has been standing in the center of the heathland for thousands of years and is known to be one of the eldest cities in the empire. It boasts very high walls though those walls are unneeded. Not many will willingly venture to the city. They will in fact attempt to avoid it at all costs. That is because the people of the city are rather insane. They follow a god called Inka. He is the god of the wind demons. The wind demons cause many dangers on the flat lands like fallen trees and rooftops blowing off houses. The people believe that if they act like the demons, their god will accept them and not turn them into dust that the wind demons may carry away.

It is a city full of sin and chaos. There is very little authority and the authority that is present is as corrupt as the people they govern. It is said that travelers who have the misfortune of walking into the open welcoming gates of the city, will never again walk out. The city has been known to enjoy cannibalism as well as festivals where they torture whoever they have captured lurking around the heathland. The city was established long ago, before the cold war and the release of the kin’toni. The city is standing because it has a long list of warfare strategies that they have used against other cities over the decades.

They have gone to war many times before the cold war began and they plan to go to war many times again. They love war and are a city fueled by anger and chaos. They believe that creating subordinates through war is the ultimate accomplishment. Many cities have yielded to Rinud’s king even before he reached the gates of their city. He is a man to be feared and the city is one to be avoided for just the simple reason that they will kill you rather than look at you. The city’s new king, Linoli is about to gear up for war once again. He’s formed a stronger military and has set to work on developing new war tactics and weapons.

They have their best minds working on new fighting tactics and new weapons to cause even more destruction. Linoli demands the best from his army and greater, stronger weapons are what he needs from them right now. They have never let down their king and they are not about to start now.

Psychology

The citizens have a very misconstrued sense of self. They believe that they are one of the most powerful cities out there but the fact that they have not ventured far from their home land allows them to have this inflated sense of self. They are a cruel community that will attack anyone that comes close to them. They have constant patrols circling the heathland and intruders are killed and used to supplement dinner. For years, the empire has been concerned about Rinud and the danger it poses. There are rumors that the kin’toni were created to destroy Rinud but the cold war barely touched Rinud and the kin’toni are nothing that the citizens and the military of the city can’t handle.

Rinud is still feared because they are constantly developing new ways of destruction and new weapons to use against the other cities. Their ultimate goal is to take over the empire. Their leader has called himself the chosen king and he makes his subjects believe that they are the children of Xentra, a fierce Goddess and the only consort to their God, Inka. As such all of Rinud are divine offspring and often they behave that way, acting like they own the world. There is no infighting in the city because they believe they are all family descended from a goddess.

It is with this thought in mind that the king and his bloodline build stronger weapons and walls and military power so that they might one day go conquer the empire. Despite the fact that the citizens hardly leave their territory, they have tasted victory plenty of times in previous generations but it is all dependent on their new king whether they go and cause destruction to other cities or not. The entire city follows their king’s orders directly since he’s one of the most direct descendants of the God and Goddess. There is no inequality here and the city allows both men and women to be fighters and warriors.

The difference with the women here to other women around the empire is that they are hard and cruel. They don’t have motherly instincts and children grow up knowing to keep away from the adults at all times. Those adults are dangerous and will punish them severely for the slightest infliction. Most of the time, children are left to their own devices once they are three or older. Children in the city form close bonds with each other considering they practically end up looking after one another. Older children will act like mothers and fathers to the younger ones and will help care for them if they are left abandoned by their parents.

There is a culture of discarding weaklings in the city and children are seen as weak. A mother will often lose interest in the child after 3 years or so. This is what breeds the cruel culture that exists in the city. That abandonment forces a child to grow up too quickly and in turn that child becomes a cold, emotionless adult.

Culture

The culture of the city is a fairly brutal one. They believe that they can overpower any other city with the right training, tactics and weapons. Their culture is all about military power and warriors. Having the best warriors for them is more important than actually having a good agricultural infrastructure. They believe that they can conquer any threat that comes their way and they are not afraid to prove their might. In fact, many of the citizens are eager for a chance to prove themselves so they get very excited by the plans that their king preaches to them at every opportunity that involves going to war against various other cities.

Power and strength are things that the city and culture strive for. The most important time of the year is a time that is called ‘the culling’. That’s when the entire city comes together in order to see who the strongest warrior is. During the festival of the culling, young boys from the age of 16 and up, may enter the tournaments to see who is the strongest. There are several tournaments to choose from. Ax throwing is an art of war that the Rinud highly value since a good ax throw can be deadly.

There is also arrow shooting and armed combat as well as unarmed combat and lastly mounted combat where a rider of a stead will attempt to combat another and dislodge them or even kill them. Mounted combat has no rules and many who enter this tournament don’t make it out alive. It is one of the most popular forms of combat that the city absolutely adores. As a champion of mounted combat, the world opens up to you. The unique tactics implemented by the champions will then be taught in the military to the powerful warriors being trained for world domination.

The other very scary thing about the culture of Rinud is that they partake in canibalism and will often go out into the heartland looking for prisoners to do work in their city then they will eat them. Many of the wars they had before brought them back a good supply of humans that they would treat like cattle. They have set up prisoner camps for these cattle in order to keep them in a certain order like one would do with farm animals. It is believed that human flesh will give warriors in particular extra strength and power they would not have had otherwise.

The fact that these individuals are eaten for their strength is a scary enough prospect. The culture of Rinud is quite a fearful one and that is why the empire saw them as a threat. Now that the cold war has come and gone leaving Rinud still standing strong, there are fears that no one will ever be able to cut the city down. The fact that this seems such an impossible task is what makes Rinud so dangerous. Many have tried to go up against the might of Rinud and they have failed in their task.

Government

It has always been the case that Rinud has had a royal family, a king to guide the people and a queen at his side to produce an heir for the future to take the throne. Surrounding that king are councilors on all matters and orders. There is a councilor for the people, one for the military and one that goes on scouting missions for the king to tell him what everyone else in the empire is doing. These councilors are chosen by the king from his court. The court consists of wealthy men and women of the city as well as warriors that have won the king’s favor during a tournament in the culling festival.

The king will hear his councilors but ultimately he will make his own choices on the various matters that are presented to him for his consideration. The city yield’s to the king’s orders. When it is time to marry off a son or daughter, the most eligible of the city warriors will be brought forward and the king will choose from them which should marry his child or children. The king in power will want an heir to his throne in the form of a male. This is in accordance with their religious belief that the god had power over his dominion and not the goddess.

As such, women in the royal court are said to be below the men. They believe that women are there to support men despite the fact that women are allowed to be part of the military and often present as smarter in combat and better able to defeat their opponents. A queen who has not produced a male heir after the second attempt will often be pushed aside in favor of another woman who will become queen in her place. The process will continue until an heir is born. It is brutal for any queen to be dethroned but there are often plenty of other women willing to take up the mantle in her place.

A male heir is groomed to become king and often gets whatever he wants just because of the fact that he is king. If the king were to pass away and there are no suitable heirs to take their place, the husband of the eldest daughter will instead take the position. This includes sisters to the king as has happened before because the king was infertile. This allows warriors and new bloodlines to take the throne and position of power which is why it’s so vital for men to join in the culling to prove their worth. They could eventually stand a chance of becoming king.

This structure has been a long standing culture in Rinud and because the city is often controlled by a singular figure, it is dangerous to disappoint that figure. Past monarchs have gone to war just because the leader of another city has said something they disapprove of. The man with the power wields one of the strongest military powers in the whole empire.

Military

The military is made up of the fiercest men and women in the city. Those who survive the festival of the culling are often welcomed into the military and trained to become warriors. Of course, the culling takes a lot of lives which is why it was given the name but since warrior men and women are often encouraged to copulate, to create better and stronger offspring there is no threat of the city’s population dwindling because of the events of the culling. The culling is held each year during the beginning of summer although the summer is coming later and later over the last few years.

The culling is a way for men and women to prove their worth and take their place among those that are valuable. The military of the city are some of the most important individuals in the city and they are treated with respect. They are often given whatever they desire. They only have to ask. The military is a powerful force to be reckoned with mainly because of the position of power each warrior or soldier finds themselves in. That is why they try so hard to become a part of the military. Men and women will often risk their lives. They are there fighting for their king because it gives them unbelievable benefits.

They want those benefits and they will kill for those benefits. That is the main reason individuals tend to join the culling at great risk to themselves. The most important thing that you can do in the city is to be a member of the military. Most of the military get given special accomodation and only get the choicest foods provided and cooked for them. These foods often include the flesh of the men they killed. The citizens and the warriors believe that eating the meat of your enemy will give you their strength but they are running out of fresh produce and when that happens there is often a war being planned to get more prisoners.

The prisoners that the military warriors managed to acquire are put into prison camps where they work for the city, building or doing other menial but hard labor. They are fed and kept in a good condition until they are slaughtered and used as food for the city. One prisoner is often executed per week and it is often dependent on how poorly they behave or have done their task they were given by their prison officer. If they step out of line they are added to the list to be executed or if they do a job poorly they are also added to that list.

It is well known around the empire that Rinud sees human flesh as a delicacy only reserved for their military and that they believe this is what makes their military warriors so strong. Even this information alone is enough to scare any enemies of the Rinud into steering clear of them completely. Rinud is starting to form a bigger better military so that they can take over other cities and have more power and control.

Religion

Rinud’s religion is based on a God that controls wind demons. The city believes that demons walk the heartland and will often kick up dangerous whirlwinds to sweep aside anything in their path. These whirl winds can cause incredible destruction that is difficult to rebuild afterwards. During these encounters with the winds, the people often pray to their god, Inka. They believe that if Inka is mad, he will send his demons to cause havoc. It becomes so bad that people will often lose most of their belongings. They believe that the god has come to collect what the people would not freely give to him.

That they have not taken enough to offer to their god which is why he came to take it for himself. The people of the city are terrified of their god bringing more trouble and causing more havoc and so they will do whatever they think will please their god. Their god is a cruel god that prefers strength over weakness. He has no time for family values and prefers warriors to children. Inka is also a trickster that can play wicked tricks on people and will watch them endure painful events that he is in control of. He enjoys torture and will often encourage striking down the enemy and consuming them.

The fact that he’s in control of a group of demons says a lot about what kind of god he is. He is a cruel god that will often torture his followers simply for the fact that he needs entertainment. His prophets often have stories about him where he will come down and punish those that didn’t behave according to his orders. One of the biggest lessons he teaches through his prophets is that the world is a cruel place and if you want to beat the world you have to be harder than it is being to you.

Many of the Rinud have thus learned to be hard cold individuals. They know only fighting and strive only to be better than their peers. Their king is a man that will use them to his advantage and to the citizens of the city the king shows true blood of Inka. Inka has a mate who produces many children for him to feed into his demon army. It is said that the first king of Rinud is a direct descendant of the gods. The royal family has god’s blood running through their veins and that is why they were able to keep the power for so long. During the generations of royal lineage, each king had to show that he was a descendent of Inka with his personality traits.

The more personality traits a king had that matched to Inka, the bigger his power and control of his citizens were. The kings of the past each changed the city and how it is run just a little bit more. Unlike other gods that are being followed right across the empire, Inka seems to enjoy punishing his people.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Rinud City Zu'aan

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