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| Songaskia | |
|---|---|
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| Race | |
| Pronunciation | Son-gas-key-a |
| Classification | Human. |
| Subraces | none. |
| Common Nicknames | Black-Skin, Grandpa-hair, Deser-Snakes |
| Languages | Qadiriq |
| Naming Customs | Malian from Earth. |
| Racial Traits | |
| Maximum Age | 110 years. |
The Songaskia, worshipers of the sun and lords of the deserts of Farah’deen, are an enigmatic race of dark skinned beings that have a history of being conquerors. The Songaskia mostly live on and around Farah’deen, but also on Faradh and various smaller pockets of their people exist in many nations across the world. Aside from the Ailor, the Songaskia are the most numerous Human race, also filling the role of the prime rivals of the Ailors for Human supremacy. The Songaskia are famed around the world for their corsair activities, their slavery and their vast slave armies, and an Empire built on conquest and magic with a brutal religion. The Songaskia provide endless conflicts with the Ailor, dominating most of the present day politics in an intense arms race between the Regalian Empire and the Songaskia Masaya. With their endless pursuit of magic, they are also poised to become the inheritors of the Elven Empire and their once high standard for magic usage.
Physical Characteristics
The Songaskia appear almost identical to the Ailor, with the exception of their skin, eye and hair color. They have a frame similar to an average Ailor, though their hair is always snow white, their eyes are always golden and their skin is always a very dark brown; much darker than either Daendroque Ailor, Avanthar Elves or even the Qadir. These traits are however mysteriously lost upon mixed parentage. Any half Songaskia born from some union of any composition loses the gold eyes and white hair, simply reverting to the standard Qadir black hair and dark brown eyes. Songaskia do however grow a full foot taller than Ailor on average, and have dramatically reduced body hair and facial hair growth. In fact even the hair on their head does not often grow very quickly or at all, meaning a large portion of the Songaskia population is bald. Additionally, a large portion of the Songaskia population actually has slitted snake-like pupils in their gold eyes. This is not uniform however as regular Human eye pupils are also common. Songaskia have excellent heat resistance and a generally thicker skin, able to resist sand storm friction directly without being hurt, and able to endure much higher temperature exposure in the desert. Finally, many Songaskia have very sharp growing nails. While many could file their nails pointy, most Songaskia actually have naturally claw-like growing nails that they often round out.
Mental Characteristics
Songaskia are perhaps by comparison to the other races, the most collectivist race that has the uncanny ability to unify under any circumstances in the advent of great threats to their people. This unwavering support to one another and the utter disregard of other races (arguably even more so than the Ailor who actually believe other races to be inferior) makes slavery such an easily excusable asset to their Songaskia Empire. The Songaskia also have a strong support of magic, much like the Ch’ien-ji and Elves. The priests to their Shambala religion are often fire or light mages, their leaders are powerful wielders of void magic and every family seeks to have at least one prodigy in some form of magic to matter in society. As such, Songaskia learn magic twice as fast as any Ailor or other race would, much like the Ch’ien-ji. What is often considered a flaw in the Songaskia psyche, is their quick need to ignore or avoid uncomfortable situations or things in their lives which they cannot control. For example, a Songaskia may have some doubts with their religion. Rather than questioning their faith or talking with others about it, the Songaskia would rather spin tales or hide in leisure activities to get away from having to think about it. This makes Songaskia society appear very leisurely and laid back, though in reality they are simply pursuing the need to avoid feeling anxious.
History
Songaskia history starts almost immediately at the collapse of the Sariyd Empire in 121 AC. Seemingly appearing from nowhere, the Songaskia marched forth from The Great Storm, a series of destructive sand storms that ravaged the continent of Farah’deen, destroying the Sariyd cities and Palaces after the Sariyd tried to eradicate the White and Red Desert Dragons. Armies of Songaskia poured from the inner deserts where none had assumed anyone could be alive, marching to conquer the remaining ruins of the Sariyd cities and urban centers. In a period of 10 years, the Songaskia conquered nearly all of the Qadir cities, bar from a few towns which eventually became abandoned. Thus, the Songaskia had effectively replaced the Qadir as the dominant race of Farah’deen, establishing the Songaskia Masaya with their Massya as a religious and political ruler. Shortly after the establishment of the Masaya, the Songaskia established the faith of Shambala, a sun worshipping cult which eventually became state religion.
In the following decades, the Songaskia continued to measure strength with both the Essa Empire and the Regalian Empire. None of the countries truly wanted to go to war, but all wished to become the prime political and military power of the world of Aloria. The Songaskia as such focused mostly on magical progress, teaching various forms of magic and pioneering new ones for the benefit of their great Masaya. Tomes were brought in from the Elven lands and many Elven instructors were invited to live in riches while sharing their magical knowledge with the locals. The Shambala faith meanwhile was attracting more traction among the Songaskia, eventually taking on more brutal tendencies and practices such as sacrifices through gruesome sunlight burning rituals.
In the latter half of the third century AC, the Songaskia came into repeated conflict with the Regalians over shipping, more notably the Regalian merchant fleets trading with Ceardia which would often be hijacked by Songaskia pirates. Between 270 AC and 302 AC, an effective unspoken war existed between the Regalians and the Songaskia where the Regalians sent warships to destroy Songaskia shipping while the Songaskia continued to try and seize Regalian merchant ships. Several wars actual wars followed and eventually a civil war as failure against the Regalian Empire caused dramatic shifts of loyalty among the Songaskia generals and their Masaya. The Songaskia continue to govern an unstable, yet large and competitive Empire, the only true rival of the Regalian Empire.
Society
Songaskia society, much like Ailor society and more so specifically Regalian society, is very centered around urban living, religious overtones and military undertones. Nearly all Songaskia live in one large nation, the Songaskia Masaya, while large populations of Songaskia also live in various smaller states to the north of Farah’deen. Songaskia society is one largely fueled by slavery, the very cornerstone of the Songaskia construction industry and even their army.
Politics
The Songaskia much like the Regalians follow a strict caste system dictated by the rulers, the Massya. The Massya is comparable to the Regalian Emperor in power, though while an important religious figure, he does not have divine status among the Songaskia. Culture. What the Songaskia lack when comparing to the Regalian Empire however, is a sedentary hereditary nobility. The Songaskia have a very fluctuating system for an upper class, where virtually every person in the upper class is some distinguished military leader or officer. Nobility also does not translate from parent to child, meaning there are no real great houses and many at the court of the Massya and whoever is there often changes positions rapidly based on military performance. A general in favor may lose favor in a matter of months and become dirt poor. Generals run the majority of the cities daily operations, generals are often appointed as governors to certain regions of the Masaya, cementing their strongholds and banner armies around their home cities. This makes the Masaya deceptively unstable, as disgruntled Generals often revolt or simply refuse to be replaced. The actual day to day living and functioning of the citizens however, is operated and guided by the temple priests.
Culture
Permeated in mystery and a certain mythical wonder, the Songaskia people are a marvel in themselves. Birthed from whirlwinds of sands, it is likewise easy to see the culture of the Songaskia as something of unseen magical exoticism. Central to the Songaskia is themselves, in a more base analysis. Hubris and self-glorification are unwritten tenets of the Songaskian identity, and the likewise self-perception tends to favor any Songaskia seeing themselves as the superior being in all parts of life and even divinity. Better still, much of the commonplace school of culture is the collectivism of the Songaskia -- the greater purpose of the Songaskia of the whole is integral, and almost innate. Of course, magic is also key to Songaskian life and culture, often to the point of public glorification or worship in association with Shambala. However, in areas of more tangible culture, the Songaskia are a people of extravagance and sophistication with a house of thought similar to Ailor -- art is made to be beautiful, food is made to be delicious, fashion is made to be daring and gorgeous, and language is spoken with pleasure and tact. This can most obviously be seen in their mass cultivation of opium on plantations. Mosaics of stained glass and precious stones tend to be popular as art pieces, with depictions ranging from contemporary Songaskia standards of beauty to the elegance and power of magic and magical prowess. Much of this is seen in reformed Songaskian architecture as well, the old edifices of the fallen Sariyd Empire remodelled and usurped into elaborate and opulent monuments of magic, pleasure, and living. Towers tend to frequently host huge bonfires atop them, and many streets and avenues often feature thin canals of running water, usually sourced from gargantuan fountains and waterworks bordering engineerical marvel. Songaskian food is a decadent assortment of dishes varying from suckling pig roasted lovingly by culinary fire mages to cucumber-mint soups, chilled by the local ice mage. Fashion, to the Songaskian people, is a thing of adored excess. Sheer, thin fabrics and low-cut, cooling designs are both practical and made to be beautiful -- often, it is through fashion that the Songaskia express their devotion to one another, their religion, or even school of magic. While much of what the Songaskia do and create in ways of culture is unique to themselves, what perhaps is foreign to them is their own language. Qadiriq is the old language of the Sariyd Empire, native to the Qadir, though as the Songaskian conquest played out, the language itself was appropriated, largely through intent, and taken by the Songaskia. If anything can be said of the Songaskia culture, it is that it is a culture of formed necessity as opposed to cultural formation.
Religion
The official religion of the Songaskia is Shambala, the faith of the Sun. The Songaskia have no other form of religion, even void worship is almost non existent among their people largely due to their unwillingness to admit their faith is wrong. The faith of Shambala dictates that the sun is a conscious being that is all-holy and all-powerful. The sun shines brightly on those who worship her and burns and blinds those who turn away from her warm gaze. The Songaskia often build massive temples with so called sun disk towers. These tall towers have bowl shaped golden polished plates, used to reflect and focus the light of the sun into certain locations. When all sun disk towers of a temple are united in one location, they burn with enough brightness to combust any organic material and even melt light metals. The Shambala faith is supported by priestesses, a purely female caste of holy figures who cover their body in white tattoos and shave their heads bald. Every priestess without exception is a fire mage, as they use a combination of fire and light magic from scribes to perform daily worship rituals to the sun. Shambala worshippers find wearing anything on their head a religious crime and often fear having any head covers, afraid it will bring the ire of the sun down on them.
Economy and Technology
The Songaskia economy is one based on self-sustenance and anything that they lack is seized from others through piracy. The entire Songaskia infrastructure is supported by slavery, a practice that is almost central in the Songaskia society due to nearly every employment being involved in slavery one way or another. Slaves operate the plantations, slaves build the ships, slaves serve the Songaskia and slaves even serve in the army. The slaves are usually captured in Farah’deen itself, being Qadir slaves, but Allar slaves are also extremely popular and even some Ailor slaves are known to be held. Songaskia technology is very low, especially when compared to for example the Ailor and Dwarves, and even primitive compared to the Qadir. They have no knowledge of clockwork, steam or even more advanced metal casting.
Combat and Warfare
The Songaskia army is said to be the most functional and strongest in the world, simply by manpower numbers. The Songaskia have an army numbering in several hundreds of thousands of slave soldiers and professional soldiers, led by generals who make warfare their entire livelihood. While Regalia focussed on naval supremacy, the Songaskia focussed entirely on having the most massive army. Their army also employs a mixed tactics strategy between fire magic and wind magic and conventional weapons. Curiously enough however, the Songaskia armies lack artillery and sometimes even ranged weapons. Most Songaskia weapons resemble spears, halberds or various variations upon those weapons accompanied with a shield. The general Songaskia tactic is to use the slave regiments as cannon fodder before sending in the professionally trained shock troops to clean up the tired enemy, which has remained effective against any foe until the Regalians started using gunpowder artillery and Orcs in their armies.
Trivia
- Qadir army sections often defy popular social beliefs in other countries, especially on the subject of brotherlove. Some women or men only battalions encourage romance between the soldiers, believing it strengthens their bond.
- The Black and Red Desert Dragons were not the last Dragons in Farah’deen. The Songaskia hunted the Red Desert Dragons and the few Barbiya Mountain Dragons that existed to extinction several years before the Cataclysm.
- Some theorize the Songaskia are intricately linked to the disappearance of the Red and White Desert Dragons, hypothesizing that an entire race cannot just appear out of nowhere as an entire Dragon species disappeared on the same day.
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