- Day-to-day Details
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Travelers flock to Chiaroscuro to trade, join caravans and board
ships for destinations throughout the known world. Amid the
ruined splendor of the Golden Age, tens of thousands come to
seek their fortunes. |
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- Clothing
- Delzahn men wear veils of brightly colored cloth whose
embroidered patterns declare their lineage and personal glories to
all who know how to read the designs. When traveling, Delzahn males
wear white or dun-colored robes to keep off the sun; in the city,
those who can afford them wear garments of fine white linen bedecked
in masses of gold and silver jewelry.
- In sharp contrast, the Delzahn believe that a woman's only true
asset is her beauty. All women go barefaced, and unmarried girls in
search of husbands typically wear light, gauzy clothes designed to
proudly display their bodies.
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- Food, Drink and Mealtime
The poor of Chiaroscuro eat a diet of flat
bread and fish with the occasional vegetable,or fleshy root
as a treat. Fresh clean water is available throughout the
city from the fountains that bubble with water. The
largest and most popular fountain in the city is one called
"Well of Skyem's Blessing" which is located in the
Plaza. The Well of Skyem's Blessing produces magically pure
water for the first 1001 people to draw water from it after
the sun rises. Tea is also a popular drink among the many
citizens.
Being poor does not stop the people of
Chiaroscuro from finding the jade for a drink in the taverns
of the city. Only a select few taverns will allow the poorer
citizens of the city in their doors. When they are allowed
to enjoy a drink, most choose a spicy thick drink called "Galmus
Tea" made from the fermented bark of the "galt tree".
Despite the name the drink is not a type of tea.
Merchants, Nobles and other well to do of
the city dine on the meats of cattle, sheep and exotic fish.
Fruits and vegetables are abundant for those that can afford
them. The fields surrounding Chiaroscuro thrive with food
and live stock. Though this wealth is jealously guarded.
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- Kumiz: Fermented mare's milk of the Nomadic Delzahn. City
Delzahn drink it as is custom but generally prefer the tastes of
fruit based alcohol .
- Galmus Tea: a spicy thick drink made from the fermented
bark of the "galt tree". Despite the name the drink is not a type of
tea.
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- Population
- Chiaroscuro's population varies with the seasons, the migration
of nomads, merchants schedules and the movement of Caravans. Though
with all these factors the population is still the greatest that the
south has seen since the fall of the Solar Deliberative. The
population approaches one million souls on average.
The
Delzahn nomads and their settled kin make up more than a quarter of
the local population. The Tri-Kahn and his extended family of
siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews form the ruling
family. The Delzahn emphasis on kinship also confers noble status on
anyone who can trace a direct line to a member of the royal family.
All members of these noble lineages are accorded additional rights
and privileges. Given the extent of the royal clan, almost one in
six Delzahn are nobles of some degree; in fact, Chiaroscuro
currently holds over 40,000 of them.
All races colors and creeds are present in the city. Most brought
to the city during trading, others looking for adventure.
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- Temples and Shrines
Delzahn shamanism emphasizes sky-worship.
Twisted memories of the Old Realm's religion are a part of the
liturgy, including the propitiation of spirits and fragments of
Exalted lore. The fusion with the Immaculate faith emphasizes the
primacy of the Dragon-Blooded, but most shamans keep old stories of
the Celestial Exalted alive because they fear what may happen if
they ignore the powers of the skies.
Hundred of years ago,
Immaculate monks traveled South to convert the Delzahn. Between
native influences and the fact that the Immaculate faith's dogma was
somewhat less developed than it is now, a weird heterodoxy took hold
with the horde. The dominant branch of the faith is (from the
orthodox view) heretical, promoting spirit worship as a de facto
veneration of the Immaculate Dragons. Later missionaries have
elicited almost no interest from the population (though the Tri-Khan
courts them to gain the Realm's favor), leading to sporadic violence
between Immaculate shamans and orthodox monks.
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The Tri-Khan has close ties with the Guild. In return for the
ability to discreetly buy and sell any goods without restriction,
the Guild uses its considerable power to help keep Chiaroscuro free
from domination by the Realm. Currently, Chiaroscuro is an open
city, where anyone may come to buy or sell whatever she wishes.
While some commodities, especially those illegal in the Realm, are
best dealt with discreetly, the Tri-Kahn and his nobles prohibit no
sales and deny no one entrance to the city or its markets. All
Guild members traveling though the South must remain constantly
aware of the complex customs and superstitions common to this land.
In the vast open-air bazaars of Chiaroscuro, pairs of large heavily
armed guards prominently wave razor-sharp, rune-covered swords at
everyone entering the market. These swords are designed to repel any
malefic spirits who seek to disrupt the trading. Anyone who flinches
away from the guards or otherwise displays fear when entering the
market marks him or herself as possessed by evil spirits, and cannot
enter until the spirit is exorcised. Similarly, in Paragon, a short
blessing to the Perfect must be pronounced before any major
transaction is undertaken. Anyone who neglects the blessing is
regarded as uncouth, dishonest and possibly subversive. |
- Drugs
- Khaut: A local herb that when chewed creates a euphoric
feeling in its user.
- Bright Morning:
- Bliss:
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- Chiaroscuro's Navy
Numbering 512 ships, the Tri-Khan's navy
is a well-drilled force. It hunts pirates and guards the waters, much
like any other navy, and frequently escorts Guild ships into and out of
port. While the Realm is supposedly the Tri-Khan's greatest ally, the
navy knows that its true allegiance lies with the Guild, and it will
perform almost any favor for its local syndics.
Life in the Tri-Khan's navy is disciplined but fair. The sailors come
from a more disciplined people anyway, and so, the naval life is not a
hard adjustment. Pay and promotions are much like the Realm's, but
sailors and officers of the Tri-Khan plan for their own retirement and
receive no pensions.
In the navy, there is a First Age light warship bought from the Realm
to serve as the fleet flagship. Of the rest of the ships, 40 percent are
triremes, 40 percent are biremes, and five percent are trireme tenders.
The remaining ships are various small craft and armed yachts.
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- Law and Order
- The Tri-Kahn has publicly prohibited all Celestial Exalted from
entering his city.
In practice, this merely means that
Celestial Exalted in Chiaroscuro are well advised to keep their
existence and powers carefully hidden; any who happen to be
discovered are given a choice between exile or service to the
Tri-Kahn. Also, any Celestial Exalted who are wanted by the
Realm or noticed by its representatives are handed over to the
tender mercies of the empire, unless they pay sufficient bribes
or can prove their worth to the Tri-Khan.
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- Naming
- Personal Names names for the Delzahn men are done in a two part
name. The First name being the last name of the father. An Example
would be Mubari-Bihjan, is the
son of Aziz-Mubari. And Aziz-Mubari is the son of Namir-Aziz.
- Titles
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As is custom with the Delzahn, the title of a person is at the
end of his name. This fact seems odd to those not from this area
or for those who have not had dealings with the Delzahn in the
past. This the most common insult that the Delzahn suffer
as their names are spoken backwards. |
- Noyan: Title for anyone who can trace a direct line to a
member of the royal family. This term does not apply to those that
are considered Orlok. [Noble]
- Bahadur: Honored Hero of the Delzhan [Hero]
- Ilkhan: Leader of a Clan or Family [Chief]
- Orkhan: Leader of one Sept made up of several Clans and
Families.
- Orlok: A Royal Prince, Eldest son of a Khan.
- Khan: Leader of a Delzahn Tribe, made up of dozens of
Septs
- Tri-Khan: The leader of the Delzahn Horde living in
Chiaroscuro. Aziz-Mubari Tri-Khan
lives off of the spoils of Tamas Khan, the Ochir Sarangherel
who first united the three tribes of the Plain of Wind-Scattered
Bones to loot Chiaroscuro. Being merely mortal, the ruler of
Chiaroscuro will not claim his ancestor's title, and so, he is
merely the Tri-Khan.
- Kha-Khan: Delzahn prophecies predict the coming of the
Kha-Khan, seat from Heaven to unite the horde. Nomadic storytellers
say that the Ochir Sarangherel Tamas Khan was the last Kha-Khan.
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- Places of Note
- Yurt Ordu: The name given to the travelers' quarter where
visitors and temporary residents live in a vast sea of tents and
impermanent structures. Some come to trade, others to seek work.
Many come to join the endless stream of caravans and trading
expeditions that regularly depart for all comers of the South. In
time, most inhabitants of Yurt Ordu continue on their
journeys. Some find reason to stay and move into the city proper.
Others lose all hope or have nowhere else to go, and drift into the
wretched squalor of the ruins.
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- Delzahn And Anathema
- Ochir Khoonbish: Delzahn name for Anathema of unknown
nature.
- Ochir Sarangherel:Delzahn name for Beastial Anathema.
- Ochir Naranbahtar:Delzahn name for Shining Anathema.
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