Heritage:Duuema

Duuema Heritage

The Duuema people are a group of elves denoted by gold-tinted skin, golden eyes, and black or blonde hair, although some may occasionally have red hair. They historically resided underground and within the volcano on the island of Vethrala but moved into Hedaware during the Awakening era. Here they settled the lands now known as Anhres and Setosia, where they persisted until the entire group disappeared in an event called the Vanishment.

Cultures

Duuema society consists of four main cultures, each with their own subcultures. They are:

• Clan Bthrek, which focuses in politics and mechanism crafting
• Clan Kraginth, which focuses in mercantile and economic issues
• Clan Roketh, which focuses in military and armament training
• Clan Abstuutha, which focuses in construction and mining tasks

Clan Bthrek

Clan Bthrek, known as the Abtherek Clan in ancient times, is considered the most traditional of the Duuema clans. The members are, by and large, staunchly conservative and believe that the established social castes should remain intact. Since they are the primary members of the government and claim the king as one of their own, it is difficult for other clans to push back against their antiquated ideas and enact forward-thinking change across the society. Because of the stranglehold they maintain over the political realm, they have made it increasingly difficult for those of other clans to "break the norms" and be successful in areas than the one they were born into. To this end, children of Kraginth merchants tend to become merchants themselves, the same as how children of Roketh soldiers find themselves joining the military or becoming armorers as well. The Bthrek take particular issue with the Abstuutha, who they see as vastly inferior to themselves and the other two "noble" clans, the Kraginth and the Roketh, and have developed policies that lower the quality of life for Abstuutha people and restrict them from engaging in matters belonging to other clans.

Clan Kraginth

Clan Kraginth is considered politically moderate, valuing both tradition and modernization in different situations. The members primarily focus on matters dealing with the economy, such as the minting of coin, selling of merchandise, and negotiating trade with other regions. Clan Kraginth, like Clan Bthrek, tends to find the most issues when dealing with the Abstuutha due to their conflicting views of Bthrek politics. While the Abstuutha feel oppressed by the strict limitations put upon them, the Kraginth believe that the rules and regulations are justified to protect society from change that they view to be detrimental to society as a whole. To this end, the Kraginth people rarely take issue with the limitations placed upon them, instead celebrating their clan identity as a merchant group. It could be said that their hesitance to turn against the Bthrek leadership is entirely due to their wealth and prosperity. In fact, many believe that if others were capable of becoming successful merchants as well, that they would lose standing in the mercantile community and find their money siphoned away into the pockets of those they view as less deserving of wealth.

Clan Roketh

Clan Roketh is considered the most progressive of the Duuema clans. Their primary focus is in militaristic endeavors, including the construction of arms and armor. Before separating from the Vethrala Duuema, the military there was almost entirely made of Roketh people. Unlike the Kraginth, the Roketh see that the Bthrek leadership is corrupt and using their power to inflict suffering on those they deem unworthy of proper treatment. Many of the older families claim ancestry that goes back to the beginning of their civilization, with some even stating that they are descended from the original king of the Duuema, Rhzor. While there are not historical records remaining that can validate these claims, it does not prevent those families from perpetuating this idea. The Roketh pride themselves on their loyalty to each other and those who have earned their respect as well as their strength of arm. It is said that one can only cross a Roketh once, with the insinuation that they will not live to cross them again. The vast majority of the Roketh population relocated to the area that is now Setosia during the early years of the Awakening era after a disagreement with the king.

Clan Abstuutha

Clan Abstuutha, unlike the other Duuema clans, does not consider itself to be a true Duuema clan. According to their oral histories, they originally hailed from the portion of Vethrala to the south, created by The Ones Above to serve as a neighbor and trading partner for the ancient Duuema civilization. Despite this, there are not many Abstuutha still out in the wilderness beyond those that reside in the farming villages. Most people within this clan reside in the city of Vouudakfel in a closed community that rarely interacts with the rest of the city or other clans. Due to their separation from the other clans within the city, they have developed their own distinct culture that further isolates them from the others. This is primarily due to the drastic difference in their languages, as the Abstuutha speak a language known as Ashtongue while the greater Duuema society speaks Duuemarj. While the languages are related at the root, they have branched too far apart in the modern age for either one to be comprehensible by speakers of the other language.

History

The Duuema civilization considers itself to be the oldest civilization on Zyrkthraan. Legends tell of the first Duuema to step into the mortal realm, coming down from Celestia itself, and founding the city of Vouudakfel within the primary volcano on Vethrala. As the society grew they began to spread out across the island, where they founded additional cities and established permanent farms.

The Roketh maintain that additional events occurred, events of treason and aggression against the monarch, but there are no records to substantiate these claims. Roketh leaders state that during the Exordium, the Bthrek clan rose up against the monarch, killing him and his family in order to take the throne for themselves. The rumors were so persistent and prevalent that the modern monarchs passed legislation outlawing discussion on this topic. Those found to be engaging in this sort of conversation have the potential to face capital punishment, depending on the severity of their argument.

Kraginth Expansion

Regardless of the happenings in the Exordium, times were considered peaceful for many thousands of years. In the early years of the Awakening, the Kraginth requested permission from the king to expand their clan westward. The permission was granted, and over half of the clan packed their things and headed west to the continent of Hedaware, where they traveled north up the coast until reaching the sandy shores of modern-day Anhres. They proceeded to spread out across the eastern portion of that area as they developed their cities, where the capital of Thangrenzalfel was established. The Kraginth in this new area came into contact with many different people, such as the Nivalii in the north, the Kroeven in central Anhres, the Mykkir to the west in the mountains, and the Zyrkari to the south. They existed semi-peacefully alongside these other peoples with only minor skirmishes, as they primarily lived underground where the others did not venture. However, the arrival of the Fjallmenn people upset the fine balance when they began killing the Nivalii over territory disputes. The Nivalii, forced to relocate, found themselves venturing underground and seeking refuge with the Duuema. The Kraginth were of two minds; some wished to turn away the refugees completely, while others were alright with them staying so long as they were given limited rights. So, the king decided to allow the Nivalii to live beside them, but only as indentured servants. They could earn more freedom by serving for a set amount of years and were not treated harshly by most. There were, of course, Kraginth that took advantage of them and brought harm to them, but these were not the majority.

Alliance with the Caeluvex

Things were peaceful back on Vethrala until the arrival of the Caeluvex to the island. The conflict-ridden society that had moved in on the surface of the island brought the Duuema many challenges. Their primary point of contention was a religious one; The Caeluvex were staunch worshipers of Umbrex, the Skia Veldrane commanding the realm of change and destruction, while the Duuema maintained a form of ancestor worship. Due to the drastic difference between the two religions, their initial interactions were rife with conflict and many battles were fought. However, the Duuema king, Dumast, determined that the endless argument between his people and the Caeluvex was so completely unproductive that something needed to change. Against the advice of his advising council, the King's Circle, he entered into negotiations with the Caeluvex leader, Raevoth, where the two supposedly realized that they had more in common than they had differences. According to sources close to Dumast, the two became such good friends that it was once reported, "Dumast has closed the palace gates and announced a holiday after the unannounced arrival of Raevoth. The two have taken leave from the court and the dutiful guards that line the halls, hiding away within the king's private quarters. He commanded none to enter. From in the hall, it sounds as if they are entered into combat, though there is nary the room for such activities within that chamber." Historians have theorized many things about this seemingly common event and determined that the two were merely engaging in heated arguments over political affairs, as it would have been unheard of for any of the Duuema to raise their voice around others.

The new alliance that was formed between the Duuema and the Caeluvex was not without consequence. The Roketh, who were usually strong supporters of the king, protested the sudden dictate that the entirety of the Duuema should treat the Caeluvex and their religion with respect. When their concerns were not acknowledged, the clan master gathered his people in a fit of rage and urged all of them to abandon their homeland. This plea was successful, and so the vast majority of the Roketh clan, including almost all of the military personnel in charge of defending the city, formed an exodus out of Vethrala and to Hedaware. Not wishing to infringe on the Kraginth territory, they passed through those holdings and settled the then-green landscape that once existed in modern-day Setosia. As they crossed the Kraginth lands, however, the most vocal of them spread the word of the new alliance that Dumast had formed, which also turned the Kraginth leaders away from him. Thus, the primary clans became separated, leaving Dumast to rule over only the Bthrek and the Abstuutha.

The Vanishment

The years following were peaceful, until a mining crew discovered a strange, pulsating rock deep in the bowels of the volcano Vouudakfel was built within. Knowing only that it was potentially dangerous, the crew contacted Kavrenthak, the Harmonic Architect, and passed the stone off to him. Through his research, he determined the stone to be the Soulstar, a mythical artifact said to hold the soul of an ancient primordial being. While it is unclear what exactly was determined about this artifact, Kavrenthak did create three artifacts, the Harmonic Triad, to interact with it. Eventually he began construction on another device, the Vahana, which he believed would be capable of transporting mortal souls directly to Celestia. However, Raevoth was alerted of this experiment and inquired about it to Dumast, who in turn commanded Kavrenthak to cease construction of the machine. This did not happen, prompting Raevoth to march his army into Vouudakfel and slaughter everyone he could find. The histories report that he was able to kill Dumast, but the rest of the Duuema that were not killed by his army vanished into thin air in an event called the Vanishment.