Qadir

Qadir Ailor
Ashkhas Minara (in Zahram)
Motto: "Between the Machines of Knowledge and Ages of Wonder."
Nation State	Al-Alus
Ruler	Technocratic Council by Examination
Other Present	Regalian Empire
Languages	Zahram, Common
Religion	Unionism
First Recorded	10,000 BC
Demonym(s)	Qadiriq

The Qadir Ailor are a Lineage of Ailor that shares a common ancestry with Ailor, but diverged at a point in history when their people moved northeast into the unforgiving deserts of Ard-al Nur. Lineages sit somewhere in between a Culture and a Subrace, meaning the Qadir are not quite as distant from Ailor so as to be a full-fledged different Race altogether, but are also not as simple as just a different culture. Being technicians, engineers, and scholars, if ever the world had a people that could be described as the world’s most technologically gifted, it would be them. The Qadir were reborn from the ruins of their Sariyd Empire, still lingering in the desert sands, sending echoes of past technological glories to anyone brave enough to venture deep into the drought. The Qadir are famous for their highly advanced technology, with most of the world's technological advances being generated by the studious Qadir engineers, producing clockwork devices ranging from household equipment to military technology and vehicles. There is no upper limit to the curiosity and capacity for invention among the Qadir: they are not a people beset with dreams of conquest and subjugation, but of progress and fame. When referring to Qadir Ailor, one can use either Qadir Ailor, or just Qadir, but they should never be lumped in with all Ailor, as that is offensive to their unique culture and history away from their Ailor cousins.

Design

Qadir are visually similar to their Ailor cousins, but different in some key ways. Skin tones for Qadir Ailor range only from Middle-Eastern, to Northern African, to Sahel-African, or Central Asian, strictly with darker to darkest skin tones (even if some white-coded people live in these regions). Qadir have a wide range of hair colors available, but also some that are unusual among Ailor: creamy beige, and crimson red. A very unique trait of the Qadir, is that they have sandstone-colored irises. Secondly, they have a curious skin-pigmentation that the Qadir Ailor call "Sirr al-Hayat" (Secret of Life), which involves a mandala-like pigmentation on the back of their hands that grows up their arms as they age, recording shapes reminiscent of important events in their lives in typical henna fashion. These pigmentations can have any color, change color part-ways, or faintly glow. Each Qadir Ailor has these Sirr al-Hayat, which usually end around their shoulders or chest when they die of old age. Qadir Ailor are a deeply intellectual and curious Race, valuing knowledge over (what their culture considers) the crude pursuits of warfare and combat. While this curiosity can just as well be averted to Magic or the pursuit of a martial lifestyle, most Qadir Ailor invest their time in technological innovation and scholarly learning. Qadir Ailor tend to be introverted and book-wise rather than street-wise, with other Race sometimes accusing them of being self-absorbed or abrasive, when in reality they lack an understanding of how other societies operate.

Why Qadir in Regalia

Why Qadir in Regalia is a section designed to give (new) Players some idea for why a Race might want to be in Regalia, as opposed to their homeland, as some Races are heavily homeland-coded and may need some contrivances to actually Roleplay in Regalia, where all the on-server activity takes place. While you can usually extrapolate other reasons from the Lore on this page, this section provides a few easy-access suggestions.

• Center of Learning: While Qadir schools are great for learning, only Regalia provides a cosmopolitan environment with other Races, Cultures, and Religions all living together. This presents a unique environment for knowledge sharing, that Qadir will not have easy access to elsewhere. Regalia also has some of the best schools, causing Qadir to migrate to Regalia, and eventually settle after graduation.
• Center of Chaos: Qadir Technicians in general love having test subjects, and where better than the center of the world's chaos, Regalia, where there are plenty of gullible Nobles who will buy pointless tech gadgets, or criminals running around free upon whom to test new inventions without guilt. Regalia is a great place to get rich, or at least gain invaluable test-field insight in the function of inventions.
• Center of Wealth: While it was already partially mentioned in the previous point, Regalia is the capital of the world's commerce (at least the world which accepts the Regal as legal tender). Many Qadir have "made it big" by moving to Regalia, and peddling their services for Mercenaries who keep losing arms to be replaced with prosthetics, or Nobles who think: "It's bread, how much could it cost, 10,000 Regals?".
• Center of Freedom: Qadir society can sometimes have a suffocating focus on Technology. Sometimes Qadir are just born with zero interest in innovation and tech, and have a far greater curiosity towards Magic or the Occult. While Al-Alus has restrictions on the use of Magic, Regalia is generally seen more loose, and allows a Qadir to easily find teachers and mentors to widen their horizons with the forbidden arts.

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).

Free Packs

• Qadir gain a Pack from the Tech Point Buy or Chem Point Buy Categories for free.
• Qadir gain the Pack Familiar Disrupt Pack for free.

Mechanics

• Qadir do not need to choose a Tech Branch, they are able to build/edit/repair any Branch. Try to be conscientious when other players feel pushed out of their niche however!
• Qadir are able to store memories being recorded in Memkeys. This does not stop Magic from tampering with Memories, but allows visual-auditory storage at the end of the day.
• Qadir can make lore equivalent VR glasses to watch Memkeys, recommending players to write Lore Stories about experiences as recordings for others to watch (read).
• Qadir can trap/rig their Rental/Base/Estate to give them advance warning of a break-in or unauthorized entry, needing to be OOC notified when and where a break-in occurs.
• Qadir may be able to do a perception check on Machines or Tech during Events to learn more about them or unlock unique interactions that other people do not have.

History

This section covers a brief version of Qadir Ailor and extended Sariyd history. For a full understanding of Sariyd History, read said page. It is however possible to roleplay a Qadir correctly without ever having read this page. The Qadir are an old Race that long pre-dates the Cataclysm, though is not older than the founding of the Allorn Empire. The Qadir were one of the first branches of the Ailor Race that civilized into formal sovereign nations, and were able to largely deter Elven interference in their development. Somewhere through history, one Qadir tribe fell in with the Ordial Cultism God the Machinist, who they eventually betrayed and "killed", making them the only Race to have verifiably killed an actual God. However, due to infighting and politics after the fact, this God was reborn and plotted an ultimate revenge on the Qadir without them knowing. Drawing the Qadir into conflict with the Dragons, the Machinist eventually tricked the Dragons into accidentally wiping a large portion of the Qadir population out of existence with the Great Storm, leaving them greatly diminished. Through a pre-Unionist manifestation of a Unionist God, the Qadir were able to replace the corrosive death-magic fueled machines with Everwatcher-fueled machines. Over the centuries since, the Qadir have fought an unending war with the Songaskians, who walked from the Great Storm as the inheritors of the Dragons and usurped much of their once held territory. In the modern Era, the Qadir are not nearly as limited in number as the Dwarves, but are still considerably reduced in global power due to their population numbers. They are still considered the world's most gifted technicians and engineers, constantly at the forefront of technological advances, and having been formally allied (but not incorporated) to the Regalian Empire, creating a sense of security and community, with a healthy movement of ideas and people between the Al-Alus homeland and Regalia.

Language & Naming

The Qadir Language called Zahram is based on modern-day Arabic, particularly in the dialects of the Arabian Peninsula. This language has remained unchanged since the Sariyd days, and has only occasionally found the need include foreign words wholesale, as the Qadir approach linguistics with formal educated councils deciding on how to correctly apply Qadir grammar and vocabulary to new concepts. Zahram is spoken across the world particularly because of the Qadir Qasr Al-Muneer which act like small enclaves in foreign lands. Zahram is often used as the language of technology, with a variety of technical terms having been adopted in other languages to describe complex mechanical processes or applications. Qadir naming practices follow Arabic also (but are strongly encouraged to avoid Islamic prophet/persons of importance names like Muhammad, Esa, Adam, Ibrahim, Yaqub, Yusuf, etc.

Conflicts

A lot of MassiveCraft's lore is constructed around conflicts that are based on religious, historical, or societal grievances. This section aims to set out the various conflict points for this Race, while also attaching some nuance, so that there is wiggle-room for players to not get stuck in endless loops of arguing the basics of societal conflict without clear Character Development or Resolution.

• Songaskians: The immediate most obvious case of conflict, is with the Songaskians. For hundreds of years, the Qadir believed that the Songaskians (being the inheritors of the Bronze Desert Dragons) were the byproduct of those responsible for the deaths of millions of Qadir during the Great Storm. This resulted in the never-ending war on the Al-Alus to Songaskian Masaya border, where hordes of necromancer corpses fight unmanned machines, a war with no victims, but one that seems endless. The Qadir-Songaskian conflict has since progressed into one less formed around historical reasons, but more about who has rights to own the land. The Qadir claim that the whole of Farah'deen was once their land, and Songaskians quite literally just occupied the cities that were left when the Qadir inhabitants choked out on the Great Storm. As such, this conflict is less about ideology, and more about land ownership.
• Ordial Cults: The second most obvious case of conflict, is with the Ordial Community. The Qadir care less so about the other Ordial Gods, and can in some cases tolerate them, but have a burning hatred for the Machinist and his ilk. If there is room to tolerate Songaskians in Regalia, there absolutely is not for Machinist worshipers. Yet, the reality is also so that the Machinist still controls hidden schematics and tech that any Qadir would kill for to acquire. This causes a difficult situation where some Qadir may be forced to work with the very thing they hate to get the very thing they love.
• Maraya: The Maraya conflict is far less about historical grievances and more of a friendly rivalry over technological prowess. The Maraya are dependent on incorporating modern Qadir designs to revive some of their old tech, but in the same vein also deny the Qadir much of their old designs in return. This is not enough to cause open conflict, but many Qadir would describe the Maraya as selfish and duplicitous.
• The Occult: For the Unionist faithful Qadir, their conflict with the Occult forms much in line with how Dogmatic or Guided Unionism feel about them. There are tolerant Qadir, progressive Qadir who like the inclusion of Magic in society, and purist Qadir who agree with the Lothar Order and want it pushed back. Generally speaking, there is a lot of flexibility, but most Qadir would avoid learning Magic themselves because culturally Magic is seen as a "hack" to avoid having to learn actually intellectually challenging skills.
• Dragons: The conflict that Qadir have with Dragons (and Archon/Dragon worshipers) is complicated. It is well known now that Dragons were not directly to blame for the Great Storm, and that they too were puppeteered by the Machinist, but the reality still remains that the Dragons just started attacking the Qadir instead of parlaying with them regarding the use of Death Magic during the Sariyd Era. For a Race so reliant on intellectual pursuit, debate, and empiricism, the Dragons and their supporters seem very narrowminded and fanatic to the Qadir. A Qadir will only very rarely agree to become an Archon, because any alignment with the Dragons while not overtly hostile, is certainly problematic.
• Rishiq: The Rishiq are a branch of old-worship Qadir who still follow the Machinist, and mostly reside in the Farahdeen deserts while avoiding the detection of the Songaskians who patrol the desert sands. The Rishiq are old believers in that they were mostly accidental or fringe survivors of the Great Storm who did not want to join up with the Al-Alus survivors, or who rejected Al-Asir as their new God/Leader. These Qadir have advanced technology, but retain their loyalty to the Machinist, while their Sirr al-Hayat are still the old Death-script rather than the more modern cleansed variant. Qadir aren't openly hostile to Rishiq, but approach them with great caution as Rishiq are fiercely territorial and hostile to anyone trying to steal or learn tech from them. (Rishiq can be played in Regalia, but recommended for more underworld/hermit characters, because they do not thrive so well in highly populated areas, but could reasonably exist because of other Ordial Cultists in Regalia).

Power Source

Many would wonder, where does much of the Tech Qadir produce come from? Originally, this technology was all fueled by the Machinist. Power was directly drawn from the Beyond and Ordial Magics, meaning all Qadir technology was in essence fueled by Death Magic. This choice became their downfall, but with the arrival of Al-Asir, their power source changed. While the original Qadir were covered in Death-Script Sirr al-Hayat (tattoos) which were used as a conduit to funnel Death Magic into the power sources of their machines, when Al-Asir was adopted by the Qadir people, their Sirr al-Hayat changed to what they are in the modern era, cleansed of the influences of the Beyond. In essence, the Sirr al-Hayat are a method for the Qadir to manifest the power of their Gods into the work that they do, even for those who do not believe in Al-Asir as a Unionist deity and rejection Unionism as a whole, their spiritual connection still moves their machines. As such, Qadir machines (Clockwork largely by extension) in the modern era is fueled by Unionism or more specifically the endless power of the Everwatcher, which is invested in Al-Asir, who shares it among his people through the Sirr al-Hayat. There exists however Ordial powered Clockwork as well, particularly that made by the Rishiq, and in theory any other power source can be used to substitute (Leylines/Dragon power, Estelley power, Arken power, etc.).

Religion

Qadir Religion is both a matter of faith and civics, because the line between them is fairly blurry, at least in Al-Alus. Most of the Qadir are Unionist, observing primarily Al-Asir as machine-hand of the Everwatcher, and by extension many of the other Unionist Gods. Most Qadir profess a preference for Guided Unionism, because of its inherent mixing of intellectualism with faith, though a sizable Dogmatic community does exist. Below that in number are Al-Asir Unitarians, which means they acknowledge Al-Asir as their God, the Everwatcher as the greater entity that Al-Asir represents, but reject the divinity of the other Unionist Gods and the Emperor of Regalia (though still acknowledging his secular power). Below that in number are the agnostics, those who acknowledge the existence of gods, but prefer to see Al-Asir more as a civic secular figure than a figure in needing of worship. This is both acceptable to Qadir society at large and very viable, Al-Asir never forces faith in him, and treats everyone fairly, even those who do not observe the Everwatcher because of his intense generosity, kindness, and curiosity to all visitors in Al-Alus. Much the same are the anti-theists, those who are forcefully against the concept of religion as a whole and blame spirituality for much of the ails of Qadir history. And finally, there are the Ordial Cultists, either those in Al-Alus who hide their old loyalties, or the Rishiq who openly still worship the Machinist, believing his technological promise of power to be more true than Al-Asir's promise of unity.

Death Rites

Qadir Death Rites are extremely unique in the world, and considerably strange in the view of Unionism. Both in contradiction of Unionism, and yet encouraged by it through Al-Asir and the necessity of loss of population during the Great Storm, the Qadir do not actually let the souls of the dead pass on fully to the afterlife. This is also the reason why Qadir are the only people who can reasonably be Atheist without having their soul condemned to the Beyond in death (superhell), as part of their soul remains anchored on the mortal plane during death, so long as other Qadir are nearby to perform the final rites. When a Qadir dies, their Membanks are connected to the Mehd al-Maut (translated to Cradle of Death), which are a type of machine that collects all the memories of the deceased person, even after death, so long as they haven't been dead for more than a few days. In the Mehd al-Maut, part of the soul is anchored, meaning it is prevented from passing on, but it is also made incapable of turning into a Spirit or Undead because the core of the soul is locked up in the machine. The Mehd al-Maut usually houses several hundred souls, and become a collective of thought and knowledge that is very useful to the Qadir. They are often treated as super computers capable of complex calculations and logical predictions. Mehd al-Maut are usually scrubbed of emotions and individuality, it is not the same as a formal afterlife, though Al-Asir has promised that when Unionist Paradise comes, that the Qadir who watched over their kin in death will be freed from Mehd al-Maut and rejoin the living. Mehd al-Maut are an ancient technology, dating back to the Sariyd Empire. This means that some Mehd al-Maut can in fact be Ordial controlled, and contain malicious Spirits from the Beyond, especially those controlled by the Rishiq. Many are also still rumored to be dormant, hidden in old Sariyd ruins.

Fashion

Qadir fashion is varied, ranging from what we IRL would consider fantasy Arabic, to the traditional wear of the Rajput or Omani people. A very common fabric choice for the Qadir is silk because of its breathing and light yet strong properties, especially with shades of blue, brown, and orange or copper. Gold is a color frequently avoided in traditional Qadir clothing, preferring brass or bronze for jewelry, while the color green as a strong accent or dominating color is avoided because of the inherent associations with the Beyond. Qadir Fashion tends to be fairly fluid because many of them do not spend a second thought on clothing expressions, preferring the merit of their mind and words to do the talking than impressions of their dressing style. Additionally, many Qadir live in foreign lands where it often pays off to adopt local customs, so truly traditional Qadir clothing is often only worn in Al-Asir, while Qadir living abroad (and particularly Regalia) experiment a lot with styles and clothing types of foreign cultures. The Qadir do not formally have a dress-code, they can wear as much or as little as they like, and have no real distinction between female or male styled clothing either.

World View

• Qadir relations with Regalia are fairly complex. At a base, they are natural allies, because of their Ailor proximity to each other, but the Qadir also fiercely refuse to be incorporated into the Regalian Empire and to become a part of it fully. They trade and are part of the Regalian economy by using the Regal as legal tender, and allow Regalian navies to lay anchor in their harbors, but refuse to become part of this "Beautiful mess" - as they call it. The Qadir consider Regalia to be an inefficient bureaucracy led by a morally corrupt nobility. The Qadir believe Regalia is far too anarchy ridden to be a good state to be part of, with anti-intellectual movements within its own leading classes, but still acknowledge that Regalia is the most viable path for them to exist in the world with a formal protector and ally.
• Qadir Ethics are sometimes criticized by other Races and Societies because of its apparent lack of any standard whatsoever. The Qadir value progress above most other things, so as long as they can avoid causing harm to sentient other persons, most experimentation is permitted. This includes but is not limited to the creation of artificial homunculi for the purposes of experimentation, as soul-less homunculi lack sentience and awareness to express or experience suffering. When a Qadir applies a standard of ethics, that is entirely imposed by themselves, and only by their own moral guiding.
• The Qadir lack nobility in the sense that Regalia has it, inherited wealth, fame, and power, bereft of actual skill. This is largely also a point of criticism of the Qadir of Regalia's autocracy: the fact that Nobles can sabotage the government either because they want to, or because of sheer incompetence and a sense of entitlement to power. Qadir do however have famous families, descendants of famous investors who are held to a higher standard and may approach more public funding than other poorer families would for the hopes their descendants might rub off on some of the genius of their ancestors (it usually does not).
• Qadir are body purists, largely because damaging or replacing parts of their body has adverse effects on their ability to produce the technology they are famous for. Removing both arms of a Qadir for example, seriously hampers their ability to call upon the powers of Al-Asir to fuel the Qatil batteries that power their Clockwork machines. The concept of replacing all one's organs with Chassis modifications as such is considered taboo among the Qadir, but very common among the Rishiq, who are not hampered from funneling the powers of the Machinist through their prosthetic replacements.
• Despite being intellectually informed about the ongoings of the world, the Qadir are woefully bereft of actual policy on many Affinities, Afflictions, and Magical conditions. They vaguely know they exist, like Marken, but show utter indifference to them, and have no common policy in society on how to deal with them or how to interact with them. As such, there is no communally enforced opinion or stance towards the Occult, save for the general sentiment that those reliant on Magic are probably a little bit intellectually challenged because they replace actual complex thoughts and understanding of physics and the world with Magic shortcuts.

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Accreditation
Writers MonMarty Artists MonMarty	Last Editor Firefan96 on 03/10/2024.

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