Asha

Asha
Ankh-Sa (in Ibeth)
Motto: "In Misery and Life, none left behind."
Nation State	The Ashal States
Ruler	N/A
Other Present	N/A
Languages	Ibeth, Common
Religion	Baskarr
First Recorded	20,000 BC
Demonym(s)	Ashal

The Asha are the oldest continuously existing People on Aloria, even pre-dating the Elven Allorn Empire, though has undergone massive changes throughout history. Under the early Dewamenet Empire, the Asha were poised to conquer vast parts of the world, however they came into conflict with the just-founded Allorn Empire. A cataclysmic war of Dewamenet Technology versus Allorn Magic erupted, which the Dewamenet lost. The surviving Dewamenet were enslaved by the Allorn Empire and used for tens of thousands of years as magically bound servants, while their Empire collapsed and their cities turned to dust. Despite Elven attempts to eradicate their culture, parts of it survived through being passed down within bound memories, and some Elves who were sympathetic to their fate. When the Allorn Empire collapsed under its own weight following the last Void Invasion, many Asha violently rose up and overthrew their Elven masters, establishing states of their own, and reconnecting with things from the past. In the modern day, the Asha are still very much affected by their millennia of servitude, with many of them having taken to the seas to attack Elven ships, try to free still enslaved Asha brethren or turn to Regalia to discover parts of their past lost to time. The Asha are a people that are slowly rediscovering their past in the world, and for many, to discover how the past has defined them and how they will define the future of all Asha.

Design

The Asha are a collective of anthropomorphic animal-people, the closest approximation of a "Furries" on MassiveCraft. A wide range of animal types are available, from canine to equine to feline, to marsupials and more, with some species classified under separate Lineages (see below). The Asha can have plantigrade legs and feet or digitigrade legs and clawed feet and hands. They can have a wide variety of natural eye colors, as well as natural fur or feather colors and patterns, but there is a great deal of freedom to change, for example using leopard fur patterning for a canine-otter hybrid design. Some unnatural colors are also available to some of the Legacies. It is important to also mention the Half-Asha, who the Asha consider full members of their societies. Half-Asha are Asha born from dominant Asha parentage that show Asha traits. Common appearances are for example animal-like eyes, ears, claws, tails, and legs, but mostly without fur covering their skin.

Cutures

Asha are divided over four so-called Lands which loosely determine their cultural associations and beliefs. This is an important choice for most Asha (though many are born in them) because it defines their outlook on life, and most notably how they interact with Elves and Mages. Historically Elves and Mages have inflicted a lot of pain and suffering on the Asha, and so the Cultures define how they act around Elves, and how they treat Mages. It is possible to change Cultures over the span of Roleplay, but choosing one is recommended when beginning a new Character so that others understand how they feel about certain topics, without the Character having to explain complex and potentially nuanced points of view for every Asha they meet.

	Deshret which loosely translates to the red land, are Asha unified in their hatred and search for justice for the pain and historical trauma their people have suffered by the Elves. Deshret Asha can be found all over the world, but most numerously among the Corsair Fleets and Naval Nations, populations of Asha without a true homeland to call their own. Deshret Asha can be expected to always express hostility towards the Elves, and anything related to the Allorn Empire or the institution of slavery, often being at the forefront of the breakdown of this dark institution in the Empire, or agitating for the Regalian Empire to go to war with the Allorn to crush them. Deshret Asha always remember their historical suffering.		Hedjet which loosely translates to the white land, are Asha who are still marked by the suffering of their people and cooperate with those aiming for liberation but aren't obsessed with hating Elves. While they can be cautious around Elves, it is not unthinkable that they would befriend an Elf or prioritize other matters in their lives than the destruction of the Allorn Empire. Hedjet Asha hail mostly from the Ashal States, island nations where the Asha try to rebuild their culture peacefully, but have also largely moved past their societal trauma, preferring to look forward to better times than to relive the suffering of the past millennia continually. The Hedjet might be derided as tone-deaf to the suffering of their people, but would quickly retort that it is in fact the others who will themselves in an endless cycle of reliving their trauma with their obsessions.
	Neferu which loosely translates to the beauties or the beautiful land, are at best tolerated by Deshret and Hedjet Asha, and at worst considered enemies. The Neferu Asha are Asha who have embraced Magic despite its usage to inflict so much pain on their people in the past, or Asha who belong to the Silontaar people, Asha who have made Magic part of their biology. The Neferu mostly hail from the Silontaar city-state, but have populations in many nations, even those still captive in the Allorn Empire. Neferu have a similar attitude to their collective history as the Hedjet, having largely moved on from the trouble of the past. Though, they deal with new demons in the present, and guilt over their people's inaction when their kin were eradicated by the Elves.		Kemet which loosely translates to the black land, are nearly universally reviled or feared by the Deshret, Hedjet, and Neferu. They include three distinct populations. First Asha who have abandoned their cultural heritage and started worshiping Evolism. Second the Asha who have gone mad with grief and become death cultists who worship the death gods and thus also embraced Death Magic. Finally there are the Mystech who were once Asha, having been ripped from the land of the living or their Dewamenet afterlife when the old Baskarr God stole the afterlife, and used it to invade the Evolist pantheon. In doing so, he became a Void God, but all Asha who joined him or were taken there became Void Spirits. Kemet Asha have a complex and often hostile relation to all others because they are disconnected from the modern world.

Heritage Traits

When designing a Character, Proficiency Points allow for a limited Ability selection with Point Buy Packs. Heritage Traits adds free Packs and Mechanics on top of that to help with cultural themes. Free Packs grant Abilities usually, while Mechanics change the way a character functions in Roleplay through subtle, and usually out of Combat ways. In essence, Mechanics just add aesthetic flair that invest in the niche of each culture. Free Packs never raise Proficiency Points, but the character must be able to purchase them normally. (ex. if a character is a certain Affinity that locks them out of a category, they cannot take that specific free pack and must choose the alternative option.) If a Free Pack grants Magic of some type, that Magic can be of any Alignment the character can normally choose, or limited to a select alignment, which will always be written in the Free Pack description. Mixed Heritage characters (i.e. characters born from two parents of different Cultures) may take one parent's 'Free Packs' and mix and match up to 5 Mechanics from both parents, although some Peoples cannot produce Mixed Heritage children (due to Magical/Fantasy reasons). Half-Asha must still choose a Lineage to be matched with, and can only pick and choose Mechanics from that Lineage.

Free Packs

• Asha can choose 1 Pack from any Category for free. If any magic is chosen, the player may choose an Alignment between God Magic, Exist, Ordial, Void, and Dragon Magic.
• Asha can choose 1 non-Ability Pack that is not Magical or Religious in nature. Non-Ability Pack means that it must be a Pack that does not give a Combat Ability.

Lineages

There is a great deal of physical divergence among the Asha, though four major Lineages are considered categorically similar. While all Asha receive the same Free Packs, what Mechanics they receive is dependent on the Lineage they belong to. This choice cannot be changed, and is also relevant to determine the physical characteristics of the Character. It is possible to be a mix of Lineages, but only one Lineage must be chosen for Mechanics. Lineages have no bearing on Cultures, a Remet Asha can belong to Kemet or Deshret culture, and so on. Some caution should be exercised with Silontaar Lineage however, as while they could in theory claim to be Deshret Asha, because they are biologically Magical, other Deshret Asha may reject them.

Remet Asha Remet Asha refers to the Asha most genealogically closest to the common Dewamenet ancestor, they are the mammalian-styled "furry" Asha, that specifically excludes any bird-like species. Remet Asha appear like anthropomorphic versions of for example canine, feline, equine, marsupial and more. This can also include hybrids. Remet Asha are by far the most numerous on in the Asha countries, and the Regalian Empire.

Mechanics Remet Asha can control a special substance called Living Metal, which is a solid Metal that becomes liquid by their thought and imagination, and can be reshaped to whatever they can imagine, and telekinetically moved around. Remet Asha have perfect night vision, capable of seeing in dark and low-light environments without needing external lights. Additionally their claws when struck together create flint and steel like sparks that light up. Remet Asha have a natural bodily reaction to non-combat Magic in their proximity. This can for example cause the fur in their neck to stand upright. It can also be used to warn of a magical presence before it is spotted. Remet Asha have a heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing out of Combat. This is fairly flexible and should be discussed with people in a scene in terms of what advantages this may give an Asha in varying scenarios. Remet Asha either through a combination of excellent acrobatics, or shock-dampening limbs, or using their claws to slide down buildings, never take damage when falling from heights, so long as this fall is below 50 Blocks.

Savent Asha Savent Asha refers to a population of exclusively bird-like anthropomorphic people that split off from the Remet-dominated Dewamenet population and resettled in Fendarfelle during the ending decades of the Dewamenet-Allorn war. The Savent developed entirely differently from the Remet, and as such also have different customs and societal expectations, not to speak of their most notable physical difference, their having wings.

Mechanics Savent Asha can control a special substance called Living Metal, which is a solid Metal that becomes liquid by their thought and imagination, and can be reshaped to whatever they can imagine, and telekinetically moved around. Savent Asha have perfect night vision, capable of seeing in dark and low-light environments without needing external lights. Additionally, their claws when struck together create flint and steel-like sparks that light up. Savent Asha can manifest (or have) Wings (of any design: Furred, Feathered), which while not in Combat, allow (Elytra) flight (including the use of Rockets). Combat or Ability usage immediately disables flight. Savent Asha have a heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing out of Combat. This is fairly flexible and should be discussed with people in a scene in terms of what advantages this may give an Asha in varying scenarios. Savent Asha have a heightened alertness and analytical mind, able to perceive threats and react much faster. They may notice dangers when interacting with Event objects or Characters (Private Message DM's for more info)

Silontaar Asha Silontaar Asha refers to a population of exclusively magic-infused anthropomorphic people that don't quite look like real-life animals but have animalistic appearance traits. Within the furry context, Silontaar can best be described as a custom species that takes small aspects of multiple species but looks like nothing in particular. Parts of their body can have magically glowing aspects or colorations, and in general they look a lot more fantasy-like.

Mechanics Silontaar Asha do not need to sleep or even eat, as they gain sustenance from Magical energies around them. They can eat if they want to, or enter into a trancelike state that approximates sleep but leaves them watchful. Silontaar Asha have perfect night vision, capable of seeing in dark and low-light environments without needing external lights. Additionally their claws when struck together create flint and steel like sparks that light up. Silontaar Asha can target one Ally in Emote Range, and make a single Spell Sinistral Variant count as Radiant magic, per day. This cannot be used on themselves, but avoids the world damage of such a spell usage. Silontaar Asha have a heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing out of Combat. This is fairly flexible and should be discussed with people in a scene in terms of what advantages this may give an Asha in varying scenarios. Silontaar Asha can grant any person the Magical version of Shapeshift Pack for free, but only for an Hour (or the duration of an Event), and with a 7 day Cooldown for that person. This can even apply to Afflicted/Mystech.

Language and Naming

The Asha speak a language called Ibeth which is based on real-life ancient Egyptian. However, it should be noted that because Ibeth is considered a reconstructed language from archeological evidence, that it is an incomplete language, and takes a lot of loan words from Common (English). Also, because it is a reconstructed language, not all Asha naturally speak Ibeth, as it is only really taught in the Ashal States and the Corsair Fleets. Most Asha who are born in Regalia never learn Ibeth, and more commonly speak the other languages of the Empire. In terms of naming, Asha similarly either have modern Ailor names or Elven given names if they were born in slavery, but many Asha have also started embracing Ibeth naming practices. Based on ancient Egyptian, these names can be complicated, because most online resources just re-iterate the names of priests and pharaoh's without discussing the names of the common people. Here follows some examples of how to construct Ibeth names with the information we have within the lore.

Baskarr based naming

Baskarr based naming refers to a common habit for a person to be called "Son of X" or "Made of Y". These are honorifics given at birth and end up being used as first names, but can also be adopted at a later point in life to honor a specific God of the Baskarr Pantheon. The current known Gods are Tjafar, Akhet, Khannar, Divi, Ra'mut, Wadjat, Nehet, and Hemnetjeret. Common name prefixes are: Sahu (spiritual body of), Sa or Si (son of), Sat (daughter of), Mose or Mes (born of), or Menkau (established in the soul of). Then, either the first or last syllable of the Gods is used to compose names, for example for Tjafar, these would be "Tja" or "Far", while Ra-Mut's syllables would be "Ra" or "Mut". Names can either be single words, or have a hyphen (-) to separate the syllables. Thus, finally composing a few name examples:

• Sahutja would be "the Spiritual body of Tjafar"
• Sat-Kha would be "daughter of Khannar"
• Menkau-Ra would be "established in the soul of Ra-mut"
• Narmose would be "born of Khannar", except the syllables are switched around.
• Rasa would be "son of Ra-mut", except the syllables are switched around.

If you need help composing a good name, please make a Ticket. It is perfectly acceptable to source names from the internet, please just try to avoid naming your Character Imhotep or Rameses or Tutankhamun, or such like familiar names from historical people. Generally speaking you should prioritize names that are easy to pronounce and not too overcomplicated long, while feeling unique to your character. Surnames are not common in Ibeth, though a frequent way to identify someone is by using the "of placename" suffix. This can either be existing cities in the Regalian Empire (or even Regalia), but is more commonly cities in the Ashal States, of which here follows a short list: Akhiza, Siwakhet, Nasar, Lunet, Lahun, Per-Wadjet, Tjebu, Zwajet, Akhet-aten, Bubaskarr and so forth.

Trivia

---

Accreditation
Writers MonMarty Artists MonMarty Processors WaterDruppel, FireFan96	Last Editor MonMarty on 05/17/2024.

---

» Read more