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 The Kazuth

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Pat
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Pat


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PostSubject: The Kazuth   The Kazuth EmptyFri Mar 04, 2016 9:24 am

Quote :
The Kazuth


Spoiler:

Introduction

Aeria is a place of hardship, of trials and challenges. There is no mortal race upon it’s surface or below that has escaped this fact. But of these peoples, few have endured such long, constant, and unique hardship as the Kazuth. A people beset and defined by strife, the Kazuth have struggled for centuries to establish and keep a home of their own making, serving to create a unique culture that values kinship and unity alongside defiance and bold action. In a world of enemies, the Kazuth have needed to quickly and strongly define themselves as a people in order to survive.


Physiology


Akin to the many intelligent races prominently found across Aeria, the Kazuth are humanoid in shape, though they carry many traits and aspects that are largely Felidae in nature. Most notably, though the colors and patterns vary between individuals and regions, the Kazuth are easily distinguished by their fur coats and quasi-beastial bodily structure.

While aesthetically similar at first glance, the Kazuth are not a divergence on Lycanthropy. Though their ossein structure share many distinct anthropomorphic features such as an elongated metatarsus and a continued tailbone, one of the primary distinctions can be found in a Kazuth’s bone density – namely the fact that they are significantly lighter in many parts of the body, such as the legs. This, however, is offset by the skeletal muscles which have been found to be several times denser than that of the average human, suggesting a natural tendency to excel in certain physical elements. Unfortunately, due to a genetic permutation brought on by several generations of famine and mistreatment, many Kazuth today suffer from a genetic deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus, leading to weakened bones and other potential osteological diseases.


Just as their racial lineage might suggest, the Kazuth do share the heightened senses of the common Feline; the sharpest of which stand as their sense of hearing and sight, though their sense of touch and taste have been noted to suffer inconsistently between individuals. It has also been noted that the Kazuth are particularly gifted with their sense of smell, though this only seems to be the case with certain olfactory triggers, and is otherwise on par with humans. Subtle changes in texture seem to be a shift that the Kazuth are incapable of detecting through their sense of touch, and are otherwise dependent on sight and smell to determine the nature of an object, individual, or environment.

Additionally, as determined by the shape and placement of their canine, incisor, and premolar teeth, as well as a cultural documentation, the Kazuth appear to be largely carnivorous. Though they are capable of ingesting and processing other types of foods, it appears as though the majority of their required nutrition can be found in meat, leading to a diet rich in various proteins. However, this could also explain the persistence of the osteological diseases commonly found within them.


Spoiler:

Origin and History

The origin and early history of the Kazuth is as shadowed as any mortal race, though as in many things the hand of the Hollow Men, the progenitors of nearly all mortal races, is suspected. Modern scholars trace the time of their conception to the Second Flowering circa 5,000 OE, almost six thousand years before the current date, on the far eastern steppes of Arushyka. Known to early Alfari scholars, the Second Flowering was a 500 year span of time in which many of the races known today - the Ha’dri, the Aranek, the To’roth, and the Kazuth - emerged. This understanding would make them younger than the Elves, Mankind, and the Dragonkin, but by no means assign them the status of a ‘younger race’.

From the time of their emergence, the Kazuth established and expanded their territory, forming semi-nomadic bands which spread far beneath the grand, open sky of the steppes. There, they came into early contact with other races such as the human proto-Arushykans to the north and west, the Naga to the south, and most notably the To’roth. While the infamously ascendant Naga Empire represented a key danger to the early Kazuth, their key rivals were the To’roth - a now-extinct race of anthropomorphic birds. The To’roth, in contrast to the Kazuth, quickly formed permanent settlements and a Confederated societal structure due to the importance of their breeding grounds, which remained fixed due to both practical and religious concerns. Though the To’roth tended towards a wander-lust that would send them throughout the world as traders and adventurers, they would always return to several well-established cities to breed and live the majority of their lives. The Kazuth, by contrast, maintained their nomadic lifestyle, hunting and gathering across the vast breadth of Arushyka. The To’roth, due in part to their influence from both the nearby Naga and because of their contact with both Ariel’s Keep and Kar’Rasa, established an early and prodigious understanding of magic. By contrast, the Kazuth maintained only their folk magics and their religious understandings of the Stars and the Moon, represented by Selas.

For many centuries, the To’roth and the Kazuth clashed. The wealth of To’roth trade and city-life urged the Kazuth towards targeted raids, while the To’roth, engaging in expansionism, began to create settlements across Arushyka, expelling the Kazuth who had lived there. But things quickly changed with the coming of the God War. The emergence of Sylornath’s vast demonic legions in Sida heralded not only the near-end of the Naga, but the utter extinction of the To’roth. Having concentrated themselves in their cities centered around hallowed breeding sites, the To’roth found themselves easy prey for the might of the Legions. Thousands of To’roth died to feed the Gaping Maw.

The Kazuth were largely spared. Their people were scattered, and thus, not as easy prey for the Legions. But the conflict and devastation still drove the Kazuth away from their ancestral lands, to the west - into the lands of the Arushykans and the Occitanians. Many scholars describe this period as a Diaspora - a great spreading of the Kazuth race. This pressure from the God War would forever change the course of the Kazuth race - forced from their homelands, they entered the realms of others. In the years following the God War, the Kazuth spread into Talibar, Sida, Occitan, western Arushyka, and even as far south as Sarkun. The prodigious Kazuth quickly established large populations in these regions - eventually coming into conflict with the local peoples.

In Sida, the emerging Mukhamists began to target beast-folk of the region for use as slaves. Sought as slaves of both work and pleasure, the Sidans - both of the prime years of the Caliphate and in the years after - indulged in the widespread exploitation of the Kazuth peoples within their lands. In Talibar, where slavery was less accepted, the Kazuth inhabited the distasteful underbelly of society, becoming synonymous with thieves, cut-throats, and the desperate and unsavory poor. A mixture of xenophobia and classism lead to the widespread dislike and stereotyping of the Kazuth people. Denied most roles in society, many Kazuth instead occupied the cities, where they eked out a living as skilled craftsmen at best and thieves at worst.

It was in Occitan, however, where the Kazuth suffered most. In the early years of the Occitanian Kaiserreich, a very large number of Kazuth came to live throughout Occitan. They came from Arushyka, where resident Kings had seen fit to expel them. Beseeched by Kazuth leaders, the Kaiser of the day decided to show compassion and welcomed the Kazuth into their lands. Originally, the arrangement worked well - but within a few generations, growing anti-Kazuth sentiment mixed with the harsh racial and national character of the middle and late Occitanian Empire forced a change. Over the course of a decade, the Kazuth were - on a national level - slowly denied rights and liberties as citizens until the entire Kazuth population were reduced to slaves. As a nation with exceptionally pro-human ideals, the Kazuth represented a subversive and enemy race that could not be accepted in normal society.

By the year 695 MP, the Kazuth population of Occitan had been enslaved for hundreds of years. Multiple uprisings, purges, decades of neglect and mistreatment, and an involvement in the Second Occitanian Civil War saw thousands of Kazuth maligned and, in many cases, killed. But finally, after so many years, the Kazuth people were ready to throw off their shackles. The overextension and weakening of the Occitanian Empire saw the beginning of a truly massive slave revolt. Tens of thousands of slaves took up arms against their masters, heralding the start of the infamously bloody Third Occitanian Civil War. The war would last 15 years and represent the utter dissolution of the Occitanian Empire. By the end, the Kaiser had been deposed and the Kazuth, united by strong, idealistic leaders, formed their own nation - the Free Republic of Haria, carved from the south-western stretches of Occitan.

In recent years, though many thousands of Kazuth live abroad, some in slavery, the overall status of the Kazuth people has improved. The Kingdom of Sanctimonia has remained strong allies with Haria, having aided in their fight and the creation of their nation. Meanwhile, Haria itself has become a power worthy of mention on the world stage, engaging in multiple victories against it’s neighbors. The Republic’s founding purpose remains strong - to provide a strong, resolute homeland for all Kazuth, everywhere, and to bring about their proper place as a race upon Aeria.


Spoiler:

Culture

While it may have once been different, the Kazuth culture today is irrevocably defined by their centuries of hardship. A millennia of persecution and exploitation have had the effect of creating a strong sense of kinship among the Kazuth people. A Kazuth’s friends are few but greatly valued - trust is given cautiously but holds strongly thereafter. This holds especially true in Haria, but is tinged with a sense of national and racial pride. In Haria, public service is especially valued, and military service in particular is viewed as not only necessary, but highly prestigious and honorable. Of course, not every Kazuth is as loyal as their culture demands - but in general, kinship and trust among close friends is highly valued, while those on the outside are viewed in an almost hostile light. The Kazuth worldview tends towards this dichotomy - enemy and friend, with little in-between.

Though it might seem to contrast at first with their emphasis on trust and loyalty, the Kazuth also value the maverick - the bold, the adventurer, the deceiver. But at a closer look, this is merely another extension of their dichotomous worldview. Friends and allies are treated warmly - for everyone else, there is little to restrain the Kazuth. In war, in life and death competition, chivalry is not important to the Kazuth. Deceit, betrayal, and rank dishonor are treated as acceptable. The Kazuth have too long suffered to allow for anything else. This has a result of tarnishing their reputation among peoples with a more chivalrous and honorable world-view, but has also bought them many victories. Haria at war is a nation of ambushers, tacticians, and ruthless strategians. To fight the enemy is to annihilate the enemy at any cost.

Religiously, the Kazuth are widely different. As a result of their diaspora, the Kazuth have often taken on the beliefs and religious ideals of the people around them, resulting in Kazuth who have accepted Tyr, Aten, or the Saints in full. Most notably, many Kazuth have co-opted and adapted the religion of the Occitanians - historically a religion used to oppress them - and instead interpreted their willful ideals, desire for independence, and stalwart resolve as fuel for their pursuit of freedom.

In recent years, two new religions have entered the Kazuth mindset, with small but growing numbers - mostly in Haria. The first is the worship of Selas, representing a traditionalist revival of ancient Kazuth beliefs. Purported by many who see any other religion as the Kazuth adopting the religion of the oppressors, this worship has quickly grown as an ideological expression as much as a religious belief. The second is the worship of Voar. A taboo belief associated with radical militarism and fringe racial ideals, Kazuth worshippers of Voar deny both Selas and the other Gods as liars and representative of the oppressor. Instead, they have adopted the veneration of Voar as representative of their perfected racial make-up and bloody destiny of revenge. The followers of Voar embody a fringe militaristic mindset in Haria, one with reach in the government and the belief that embracing Pantherathropy - Voar’s gift of Weretigers - is a form of perfection and superiority. The blood-lust fuels their inevitable revenge.
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Pat
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Pat


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PostSubject: Re: The Kazuth   The Kazuth EmptyFri Mar 04, 2016 9:24 am

Many thanks to Fuzzy for her help on this.

Venom, you have been spared.

Also banned.
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Munroe
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PostSubject: Re: The Kazuth   The Kazuth EmptyFri Mar 04, 2016 11:10 am

I must say Pat, out of all of the lore pages you've done, this is by far the worst.

Kazuth were infinitely better when they were just people with cat ears tacked onto them. Some of the best moments in Olden happened when a character, any character, could put down a saucer of milk and go oddly silent as it was swarmed by nubile Kazuth women, all 100% over the age of 18 (that's what everyone told themselves anyway).

And what about the cat-men? Don't think I've forgotten about them. Handsome, dashing, and prone to meow loudly and hilariously when struck in combat. That's what Olden is all about. That's what it's always been about.

Honestly, I don't know what you were thinking when you changed the noble Kazuth into these... things. Khajiit- I mean, Kazuth, were never supposed to be anything more than people with cat ears, tails, and awkward feline traits. For shame, Pat.

For shame.
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