Dzeia
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The Third Dze Confederation Dzetsʻał̣u | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Tamga of Tsotʻaan Xanaaq̇ut
| |
 | |
| Status | Independent state |
| Location | North-east Tselmeg |
| Capital | Ƚysxḿo'niq |
| Largest City | Ŋołtʻokeq |
| Official languages | Old Dze |
| Recognised national languages | Dzenic languages |
| Ethnic groups (2010) | Dze (94.5%) Humans (3.5%) Kemonomimi (1.9%) Others (0.1%) |
| Religion | Tx̣ex̣uq |
| Demonym(s) | Dzeii, Dzean, Dzeioi |
| Government | Federal Semi-Constitutional Monarchy |
• Tsotʻaan | Łʻysxalx̣ |
| Legislature | Tsodzuńńi |
| Establishment | |
• Founding of the 1st confederation | 7564 BC |
• Founding of the 2nd confederation | 3631 BC |
• Start of Xanaaq̇ut's War | 1887 AD |
• Founding of the 3rd confederation | 1892 AD |
• Fall of the Mannish League | 1906 AD |
| Area | |
• Land Area | 2,987,484 km2 (1,153,474 sq mi) (7th) |
• Water (%) | 7.26% |
| Population | |
• 2010 census | 9,980,044 |
• Density | 3.34/km2 (8.7/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2010 estimate |
• Total | $119.72 Billion |
• Per capita | $11,997 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2010 estimate |
• Total | $63.17 Billion |
• Per capita | $6,330 |
| Gini (2010) | 34.1 medium |
| HDI (2010) |  0.739high |
| Currency | Serenity Yen (¥) (SEY) |
| Date format | yyyy.mm.dd |
| Calling code | +42 |
| Internet TLD | .dz |
Dzeia, known natively as The Dze Confederation (Old Dze: Dzetsʻał̣u ['d͡zet͡sʼaɬʰu]), is a large nation in the continent of Tselmeg, bordered in the west by Atraland and the Iktah Remnants. It covers an area of 2,987,484 square kilometres (1,153,474 square miles), the 7th largest in Kalrania, with a population just below 10 million, with little over 3 people per square kilometre, making it the world's most sparsely populated sovereign state. The Confederation is one of the easternmost nations of the planet, as well as one of six nations controlling lands within the arctic circle and it is also famous for its unique and very diverse wildlife, it is the only nation in all of Kalrania where Haplokariotes and Polykariotes can be found, encompassing nearly the entirety of the zoogeographical zone known as Polykarya.
The territory of the modern Confederation seems to be one of the oldest continuous inhabited places on the planet, having remained isolated from the events that befell the surrounding lands due to its geography and isolated positioning. The lands of the Dze Confederation have archaeological evidence of a distinctive techno-cultural presence since at least 110,000 BC, belonging to the Ŋ́ynƚaq culture industry, a Middle Paleolithic complex, whose makers inhabited the mountainous central regions of the country which seems to have mostly been located in the Eastern Range until about 50,000 BC when they began to expand alongside the hills towards the coast and the west as the culture splintered. Later during the Late Neolithic Dze Collapse the dze dispersed once more and later coalesced into several chalcolithic cultures, culminating in the Flower Stirrup culture which kickstarted the Dze Bronze Age by 10,000 BC. At around 8,000 BC there is archaeological, and later written, evidence for the arrival of four distinct human groups, the Longplow, Broadaxe, Highstone and Red Arrow cultures; after these arrivals it seems the dze quickly began to coalesce into more organized societies during The Invasions, an event happening around 8,000-7,500 BC which triggered the formation of the First Confederation due to the seemingly violent incursions into Dze territory by the former three cultures. The subsequent near 10,000 year long conflicts culminated in the rise of the Third Confederation in the late 19th century AD and the fall of human invaders barely more than a decade later.
Around 96% of the population remains, to this day, semi-nomadic, comprised almost entirely of ethnic groups of Dzeii origin, however a growing population, consisting mostly of Humans and Kemonomimi, are settled in permanent cities. Tx̣ex̣uq and related traditions are also the dominant faith, at around 95.5%, with Kemonosanbi being the second largest at 1.7% and a myriad of native human religions, as well as nonreligious, denominations following. Dzeia is a member of the League of Nations, REK and the Northern Union.
Names and etymology
The name "Dzeia" means "Land of the Dze" in Ausonian. The word Dze has a native etymology, coming from a Proto-Dzenic root *dz, meaning "to stargaze", and it, and its cognates, is generally used as an endonym by the native species; the word forms part of the native name for the nation, "Dzetsʻał̣u" which means "Pact of the Dze", however the variant term "Nujuntsʻał̣u", meaning "Pact of the Nomads", has begun to gain traction as a vernacular term, as the non-dzeii population grows, however it has not been given any sort of recognition by the government.
History
Prehistory
The archaeological record shows that the mountainous lands near the Inner steppes had been inhabited by an ancestor of the modern dze, Tenacitherium anthropopsius, from around 2,500,000 years ago until evolving into the modern dze, Tenacitherium terrible, around 500,000 years ago. By around 100,000 years ago the archaeological record shows that the first proper material cultures arose among the dze during the paleolithic, the Ŋ́ynƚaq culture and the Pax̣ŋ́eç culture. By 17,000 BC there is evidence for advancements that could be called Proto-Agriculture, with signs of land clearing and selective placing of several species of flora or the mass culling of species in certain periods, suggesting an artificial increase in populations of game and careful management of populations. However it would be during the Neolithic that the first concrete evidence for animal husbandry and agriculture arises in the lands of the Confederation, with the evidence of domesticated herds showing in paleo-art, with agriculture being quickly abandoned, or so it seems, in favour of continuing the development of a transhuman lifestyle; reasons for this are unknown, but from skeletal remains we can see that in older, early agricultural settlements the bones show signs of malnutrition and several vitamin deficencies, whilst later nomadic burials have much healthier remains, probably due to much of the Confederation's lands being unsuited for agriculture at that time.
Archaeological findings of the Neolithic period end abruptly around 12,000 BC with the Late Neolithic Collapse, an event of unknown causes that led to a genetic bottleneck, as well as the spreading of the population as it declined. Despite the cultural collapse, populations seem to have recovered from the disaster relatively quickly. After the collapse, the archaeological record shows us that after population levels recovered a few thousand years afterwards and that there appeared many chalcolithic cultures almost simultaneously, around 11,000 BC, including the Moonblade, Caveshrine and Lowmound cultures. Key developments that occured in this time also include the start of the usage of wheels and carts as depicted in art by the Early Moonblade period at 11,500 BC which allowed for the true start of the semi-nomadic lifestyle the Dze prefer nowadays. By 8,000 BC the usage of Bronze alloys had begun to spread amongst Dzeii groups.
Older Era
Human arrivals to the Dze lands begin to be documented from around 8,000 BC in the Çunyw Stelai in the far west, having been identified with the Longplow, Broadaxe, Highstone and Red Arrow cultures. The arrivals were both of mixed nature and stelai unearthed in nearby localities and dated to the same time period reveal that by the end of the 9th millennium BC proper Human-Dze conflict arose, which led to the slow creeping of humans into the territories of bronze age dze cultures in the south and west. These early aggressions caused the final development of dzeii state organization; while the title of Tʻaan had risen up among them as a word for a chieftain or general ruler during the Dze Golden Age, it was during the start of The Invasions that it began to become a universal term for the ruler of a clan, akin to a king and after some generations the Dze clans slowly coalesced into the First Dze Confederation under Tsotʻaan Qułʻaq of the Alx̣tsʻan clan in 7564 BR, who had spent thirty years uniting the clans, creating the Tsʻal, a code of conduct in social life and between states that would then dominate later dzeii cultures.
Under the leadership of Qułʻaq the armies of the dze would ravage human domains, stopping their expansion into polykarya for a time. However, as he was succeeded by his daughter, Tx̣eńat, the confederation would have to contend against the forces of the Jhu'kan Empire in the Battle of Alx̣kyx in which the Dze managed to defeat the forces of Ka'sun I. The aftermath of the battle would lead to 278 years of peace between humans and dze, an unparaleled amount that would not be achieved again for over three milennia.
The confederation and the Jhu'kan empire spent most of the later years of the 8th milennium at peace amongst eachother until the Latuq War) in where the lands of the confederation, under the rule of Tx̣eł̣eeq, great-great grandson of Tx̣eńat, were invaded en masse, and they were ultimately driven from the central meadows and steppes, resulting in the death of the Tsotʻaan after a betrayal and last stand.
Middle Era
For little over 5 centuries after the Latuq War the landscape would be dominated by human polities, like the Jhu'kan, Ghutan, the Zállta Chiefdoms and the Vatan. By 6631 BC however, a people known as the Taaxdze had subdued Ghutan and entered the Jhu'kan lands, utterly destroying the empire, the event later known as the Scouring of the West; the following milennia were ones of warfare and constant shifting of the balance of powers until the ascension of the Sungi Empire, descended from the Jhu'kan, which had extended beyond the Polykaryan Limes into regions mostly unknown to the Dze at the time.
The growth of the Mvadi during the era of the Third Dynasty at the middle of the 6th millennium BC would lead to repeated conflicts that led to the ascension of the Fourth Dynasty, which would destroy their rivals by the end of the 53rd century BC. The base of power of the Namgi remained intact for many centuries thanks increased settling of borderlands with the Dze by what the Yegin called the Trun Gryak, commonly translated as Foederati, and the introduction of iron from the south. The stability of the fourth dynasty would end with a combination of revolts from its vassals, invasions by dzeii tribes and natural disasters at the tail end of the 5th millennium BC, with the fifth, sixth and seventh dynasties having to contend with other human realms as the dze once again began to re-appear throughout the 4th Millennium BC.
Various dzeii clans would conquer the lat highlands during the 38th century BC; the violet reed river would then become the definitive border between dze and humans south of the western range due to its width making invasion by either side unfeasible. During this time, the Mxétsʻé clan, hailing from the forests in the, began a process of unifying their neighbouring tribes and clans starting from 3672 BC onwards, with their leader, Qińux̣, being declared tsotʻaan by over thirty tribes, however he and his descendants would not be able to fully unite the Dze until 3089 BC under the command of Tṡutlał̣.
Younger Era
Geography and climate
At 2,735,705 km2 (1,056,262 sq mi), the Confederation stands as the sixth largest country in Sparkalia, being almost equal in size to Choslow. In terms of latitude it's current southern borders coincide with the southern borders of S'Lanter or the northern borders of Kethes, while it's northernmost point lies roughly in accordance to the central-northern regions of Choslow, it's westernmost point is roughly in the same longitude as the central regions of the Golden Domain or Polslava whilst the eastern most point has a similar longitude to Warsky's eastern frontiers. The confederation was famous for not bordering any country, however now sharing border with the Golden Domain, which established a zone of control south of the sunlands in 1612 that it later consolidated.
The geography of the Confederation is very varied, the most broad categorizations are the arid southlands, the mostly oceanic to mediterranean west and the hilly forests and steppes making up much of the north and east; around 55% of the country is forested, a percentage much larger than that of most nations, if not one of the highest overall, and around 10% is dry or desertic in nature with a similar amount is covered permanently in water in the form of lakes and rivers, with the whole of the confederation lying within Polykarya, a region of Sparkalia where strange and seldom seen flora and fauna inhabit almost entirely in isolation from the rest of the world. The highest peak of the country is the Snowcrown peak, located within the Ŋketx̣en massif in the north-centre of the country, at 5,567 metres above sea level, with the average height above sea level in the country laying around 1,300 metres above sea level.
Due to the surpising levels of volcanic and seismic activity in the mountain ranges, it was thought that the lands that the dze inhabit either once were separate from Pythia, drifting southwards as time passed or that the lands inside the Polykarya were always part of the continent and that, in colder periods, the Limes stretched further to the south; the former was proven to be the right, as an analysis of Pythia's tectonic plates showed that the confederation lies almost entirely within what used to be one plate that also contained the nation of Zÿlwahl that was divided into two by a growing oceanic plate, pushing the current lands of the confederation southwards over time and the zÿlwahlr plate to the north. The plate in where Polykarya is located is also home to some of the most ancient Zircon crystals found to date in the Ńṭŋq̇e craton, a region of land in the Central Plateau.
Climate
The lands of the Dze are sometimes referred to as the "Land of ice and fire" (Old Dze: "Ŋq̇et'e'y x̣ƚe", referring to the harsh winters it is subjected to and the active volcanoes in its tall mountain ranges.
Due to the ocean currents and wind cells, the country is known to drop as low as -60ºC during winters on many areas to the north and east, with temperatures in the summer averaging to 18ºC to 21ºC. The country manages to remain relatively warm all around due to temperature inversion caused by the rapid ascension of the land from the coastlines, creating a uniform temperature spectrum across the country during most seasons, while in winter temperature varies from region to region due to the converging high pressure cells of variable intensities, increasing in effect the lower you go in height.
In the winter the whole country comes under the influence of the Bight Anticyclone, with the Cloudspear peninsula, the Oriental fjords and the Leaf lance plateau being the most affected locations. In the western areas however the climate is more temperate overall as the anticyclone effect grows weaker and it is less subject to the conditions set by the wintry bight, one of the most famous of these areas is the mediterranean south, known as the Sunlands. In the sunlands the climate rarely drops from 0°C in the winter, the maximum ever recorded being at 31°C, whilst in the inland deserts, most notably the Dlał̣ŋ́eç desert, the temperature variation can range from -7°C in the night and 37°C in the day during the month of Virdis, being one of the highest variations of temperature known in Sparkalia.
The climate of the nation overall, due to the large mountain ranges and rapid height ascension, is home to several microclimates in its valleys and inland regions, as well as having minor geothermal activity which has caused for warm water springs to appear in the interior; other factors to note include the water currents in the wintry bight, which mix warm and cold waters and create more temperate climates in the coasts in spite of the anticyclone phenomenon; this mixing of currents also aids in bringing large amounts of precipitation inland as massive weather fronts from the north pass over the confederation.
The country also has on average 156 cloudless days, more concentrated in the spring and summer and it's a nation with high atmospheric pressure on average. Precipitation is also more notorious in the north and west, with the southern valleys being classified as a cold desert or cold-arid steppe, the most precipitation occuring in the Cloudspear peninsula at an annual average of 1,630mm and the least happening in the Dlał̣ŋ́eç desert in the south at 187mm of annual precipitation.
Most climates in the coastline are humid continental or oceanic, while the vast array of coastal hill systems create a primary rain shadow effect in all areas except for the westlands where the climate is milder, yet this effect is minor and doesn't prevent the precipitation from reaching most of the country. The mountain ranges however create a secondary, larger, rain shadow effect in the central and southern regions which allows for the creation of steppe, sub-arctic and humid continental climates in the interior between them and the hills, however creating cold, desertic climates in the furthest inland regions due to the massive continentality effects of the pythian landmass; lastly, the mountains themselves are home to widespread tundra climates due to their altitude and position.
The rain shadow effect has created a myriad of deserts in the south below the Eastern and Western mountain ranges. Due to the abundance of creeks and rivers however, as well as glacial lakes, the country is surprisingly well irrigated in most places, despite the rugged geography and the rapid ascension of the topography. This has also allowed for many areas to sustain larger flora concentrations than it normally would from the excess water from the mountains, allowing for greater biodiversity overall.
Data from the Archival Institute of Knowledge recollected during the Voiditen expedition of 1612 revealed that the tectonic plate that Polykarya is part of has begun to split from mainland pythia at a minimum rate of 10 centimetres per year in a northwards direction, which has caused minor surges in geological phenomena in the form of earthquakes, spikes in volcanic activity and the apparition of warm water springs in the southern regions both inside and outside the Polykarya biosphere.
Enviromental issues
Although the dze themselves are not responsible for major enviromental issues, the air pollution from southern countries has caused minor increases in the rates of wildfires as well as increases in respiratory issues in some areas and the overall warming of the planet has also had the effect of minor precipitation deficits every so often, though these issues are still minor they have been noticed by the dze, who are yet to find a proper response to these.
The previous human presence in many areas has also caused certain species to be threatened, with localized deforestation being present in the west, south and even areas of the east. Another fact to consider, although usually prevented by the wind and water paterns, is the occasional radiation pouring from the Golden Domain's irradiated landscape, which causes rare, but very damaging, sharp increases in the amount of radiation in the water, killing many of the aquatic wildlife around the area; these kinds of situations however only occur every fifty or so years at worst. One mitigating factor with this specific issue is the ability of haplokariotic cells and related biota that allows for quicker repair of DNA, however cancer remains a risk during these spikes beyond the ability of the Dze to control.
Wildlife
The microclimates that characterize the lands of the Confederation have allowed for a great range of wildlife diversity in these enviroments to blossom in almost complete isolation. The wildlife itself is dominated mostly by the synapsid-like Trimetrodontids and the archosaurid-like Saurognathids, with it's sub-clade, the Aveformids, having most airborne creatures and the unrelated Pseriformids dominating the waters of the confederation. The florapsids constitute the plant life of the confederation, the most notable members of this domain being the smooth-barked trees, called Lii, the rough-barked trees, called Xuun, and the seas of different rootgrasses that constitute most of the ground level vegetation.
As noted by Voiditen explorers, all fauna and flora inside the confederation belongs to either Haplokariota or Polykariota, two domains of life found almost nowhere else on the planet, with the evolutionary history of these being unclear, however it is theorized that Haplokariota split off from the rest of the life tree early, evolving a secondary domain, Polykariota, as life became more complex and macrofauna more prevalent. The reasoning behind the existance of Polykarya is unknown, but it is theorized that the lands inside it used to be insular in nature and as it clashed with the main Pythian continent, it created a line of contact that shifted until the geographical barriers divided them enough to give clear cut lines between Polykarya and Eukarya, this theory is the most popular of many regarding this miraculous development due to the fact that in recent years it has been confirmed that polykariotes have been found living in Zÿlwahl and nearby islands, which was previously thought impossible due to the thousands of kilometres of ice separating the confederation and the aberrant islands.
The country has a Forest Landscape Integrity Index of 9.72/10, one of the highest in the world, due to the little need for mass deforestation for raw materials, though in areas predominantly inhabited by humans there are localized instances of large scale deforestation, specially in the south-west.
Demographics
Although the total population of the Confederation is unknown, the most accurate estimates carried out in 1612 by the Tsotʿaan in the Great Meeting estimated the population at 7 million, with a human population acounting for 2.1% of that number, nearly 150,000 people, making it one of the least populous countries in Sparkalia, however with an estimated population growth of 3.19% and a potential fertility rate of 6.1 children per Dze woman and 5.7 per human woman, with the national average at 5.9 per woman; this data, combined with the lack of warfare, predicts a rapid population growth in the coming decades. It is also estimated that around half of the country is younger than 25, though this data is incomplete due to the limitations of any census that may be carried out.
Dze ethnic groups make up 97.1% of the population in the confederation, with the human minority inhabiting the far western and southern reaches of the land and isolated pockets in the Hammerfall peninsula; in ancient times the percentages were much less disparate due to constant human invasions and migrations, but in recent times most of these invaders have been pushed back or driven out, with only human ethnic groups allied to the Dze remaining. Many of these ethnic groups however have been greatly diminished from the conflict and have thus recluded themselves from most affairs. The Confederation is also known for being the most sparsely populated country on Sparkalia, with an estimated population density of 2.56/km2 (6.6/sq mi).
The country is currently benefiting from a massive population growth, estimated at over 3%, which is predicted to peak at over 5% by 1620 and then stabilize around 1% by 1700, which will allow for the country to recover from the mass depopulation of the past decades, however it will present an economic challenge as the percentage of the population under 25 years old increases more and more. This means however that the nation will grow to be around ten million strong in the near future.
Settlements
Although the dze are entirely semi-nomadic, with some human groups adopting a similar lifestyle, the majority of human peoples live in settled communities, most notably in the hammerfall peninsula, the mannish frontier and the sunlands. Most mannish settlements, due to their location, are very hard to access for foreigners and only their rough layouts and sizes are known. Asides those, there are two notable settlements.
Ŋołtʿokeq
After the arrival of various foreign expeditions, it was decided in the Tsǫdzuń of 1612 that all foreigners would be forced to arrive in one location, with a bay in the central coastlines being chosen for the construction of what in Old Dze is known as Ŋołtʿokeq, literally meaning The Port, with many of the native human groups participating in the construction of a small harbour for ships to dock in as well as living quarters. The Dze would then begin handing out sections of this bay to foreign countries who could pay up the proper annual tribute and abide to the restrictions of the port and the laws of the locals.
The port is designed to harbour cargo ships or freighters of up to 200m in length and 20 in width, with temporary living quarters for the crew and accomodation centres. With it's core being built with traditional mannish architecture and modernized with the arrival of the first foreigners, it is famous for having "quadrants", which are areas of influence where each nation that pays the proper tribute can establish docks and facilities. Due to the lack of currency in these lands, most nations have installed air turbines or solar panels for energy in the summer while exporting natural gas for heating, with costs being discounted or negotiated during the establishment of tribute payments.
The following nations have a presence in Ŋołtʿokeq: S'Lanter, Choslow, Khijovia, Voidkree, Ariseo, Polslava and Prestore.
Ƚysxḿo'niq
Situated in a high mountainous valley and in one of the oldest known archaeological sites in polykarya, Ƚysxḿo'niq is a semi-permanent settlement where shamans and craftsmen are initiated in their rites and where the sages of their guilds and faiths convene to discuss all manner of intellectual matters. The settlement is however closed off to most foreigners and the exceptions that have been made have been sworn to secrecy; even with that, the basic picture of this site can be understood through what little information the Dze are willing to share.
Ethnic Groups
The Confederation is home to 132 dzeii ethno-linguistic groups, denominated "Clans", and 15 human ethnic groups comrpising little under 150,000 people, before the Last Dze-Human War there was a much greater number of human populations, though most of these were entirely driven out of the country by 1612 in mass deportations that followed the fall of the realms opposing the dze. Of the mannish peoples, the Näru are the largest, consisting of around 56,000 people, and the smallest are the Tlaxam, consisting of less than 5,000 people.
Languages
There are more than 100 languages spoken in the Dze Confederation, most of these belonging to the Dzenic Languages and some other smaller families spoken by human groups; another thing to note is the 10 Lingua Francas spoken between people of different groups, of which the most widely used is Old Dze which is also the national language for administration. Most Dze are at the very least bilingual, learning their native tongue, one of the Old Liturgicals and sometimes Old Dze or other languages; most shamans and tʿaaniq are trilingual and further, as they are responsible with interacting with outside peoples the most, the current Tsotʿaan, Xanaaq̇ut, has been reported to know eight languages fluently. This is partially helped due to the Dze's innate ability for language learning, aided by their superb hearing and vocal abilities as well as their natural curiosity.
In these days Dzenic languages, as well as all mannish languages inside the Confederation, are written in scripts derived from the Moonblade script, an alphabet originally made tens of millenia ago for the Old Dze language, or from variations of the Old Jhu script in the case of some mannish languages. During the First Great Meeting of 1612 scripts for commonly used and encountered foreign languages were developed as well. Of these, the most commonly known are Solaren, followed by Ministry Standard, Khijovian, Thestrian and Crystallic, although Solaren remains by far the most prevalent of all in regards for foreign communication, followed closely by Khijovian with both being the main lingua francas in the port of Ŋołtʿokeq.
Religion
| Religion | Population | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Religious | 7,000,000 | 100% |
| Tx̣ex̣uq | 6,860,000 | 98% |
| Zheduktsu | 70,000 | 1% |
| Mang Na | 42,000 | 0.6% |
| Other religions | 28,000 | 0.4% |
| Total | 7,000,000 | 100.0% |
Dze follow a set of religious practices collectively known as Tx̣ex̣uq, called Dze Shamanism or Ngunism by outsiders, which seem to stem from a common ancestral religion of which the descendant traditions have only slightly diverged from. Humans on the other hand follow many different religions, including Tx̣ex̣uq, with the most widely practiced being Zheduktsu, of which around 50% of the human population adhere to, with the Mang Na religion being the second largest minority faith.
Tx̣ex̣uq is famous due to the fact that it is fairly decentralized, however the spiritual leaders, the Shamans, have kept the various traditions of Tx̣ex̣uq alive and almost entirely unchanged since the days of the Chalcolithic when these began to be written down and the religion is widely practiced by all Dze and a small human minority in the hammerfall peninsula. These traditions themselves vary wildly from clan to clan and sometimes even between related tribes, however there is an unanimous agreement regarding the crown deities, the Five Holy Ones, and the main philosophies, with each tradition having their own prioritized secondary deities for worship and their own divergent sets of myths. Due to all of this, contemporary tx̣ex̣uq is known as a family of religions rather than a singular belief system, as the original myths and traditions have diverged since the moonblade era to the point where they are mutually unintelligible in many ways. Shamans and religious figures of all of these traditions of tx̣ex̣uq gather occasionally at the Tx̣edzuń, which are highly secretive and are for discussing matters of faith, however these events are rare, the last one occurring in 1578.
Most humans however follow two religions: Zheduktsu and Mang Na, both practiced in the regions southwest of the hammerfall peninsula as well as the northern reaches of the western range in a region called the Mannish frontier, while minority religions are upheld by newly incorporated human groups in the westlands of which their traditions are poorly documented in outside sources.
Totems
The most sacred objects in tx̣ex̣uq traditions are totems, some of which have been carbon dated to be over 100,000 years old; these are made of various types of stone, cleansed of weeds and with damages being repaired every so often by shamans. Totems serve as travel signs, sites of worship, historical recording objects and as family heirlooms depending on the type that is constructed, rectangular totem stones usually depict the local wildlife and have a warrior embeded into them and serve as boundary stones, indicating the limes of each clan, as well as posts to indicate travel routes, however there are also some that rather than the warrior and wildlife, there's a variant that carries text, known simply as stelai, and these are placed in areas where important events in history took place.
Cilinder, pole totems on the contrary are religious in nature, depicting a local deity or the ancestor of a family who was cremated in that spot, which serves to indicate the place of origin of a particular family lineage. Deity-portraying totems have no particular placement requisites, yet they are frequented oftenly and are usually the ones in the best state, sometimes even ornamented with gold, silver or platinum dust.
Health
Despite being a primitive nation, the Dze and their mannish allies have milennia of medicinal knowledge, mainly transmitted through a carefully maintained line of shamans and their disciples which has allowed for deaths by illness to be massively reduced compared to other tribal societies. The human life expectancy is 65 years and the dzeii life expectancy is 120, however the average ages are 25 and 40 respectively due to the massive losses sustained during the last war by both species.
Child mortality however remains an issue, with 4 in 10 newborns dying before the age of 2 due to the harsh weather and the strifes of war, though this is expected to lower as the nation recovers from these issues. Even still, the fertility rate is at 5 and 6 for humans and dzeii respectively, whilst the average living offspring per woman is 4 in both races.
Government and politics
The Dze rule themselves in a Confederation, with the central figure of the Tsotʿaan, who is elected for life during one of the Great Meetings held annually at the Leaf Lance Valley; these meetings are held by the Tsotʿaan and the 147 tʿaaniq of each dze and human clan and nation. In these meetings most of the things discussed relate to potential land disputes after geographical changes, the management of conflicts, movement of animal herds and so on.
When a Tsotʿaan dies, the Great Meeting elects amongst the most worthy of candidates, usually from the direct family of the last Tsotʿaan, which are valued in their worth by their intelligence, strength and craftsmanship, with whoever excells the most at these three categories being elected, be it man or woman. The current Tsǫt'aan, Xanaaq̇ut, ascended to power by unifying the local confederations between 1590 and 1598 AR during the Last Dze-Human War. The Tsotʿaan however is not a supreme monarch, with most of the governing being done at the local level by the individual tʿaan.
Foreign relations
With the isolationist nature of the Dze and their human allies, very few have traversed into their lands in the past from proper nationstates, the only three so far known have been expeditions by Nova Solarius and Khijovia in 1607, with the former sending a second expedition later again in 1611-1612 and an accidental crash landing in 1612 of a crew from Tepror, all four of were peaceful in nature and two of these even creating more official bilateral relations between the Dze and outsiders.
During late 1612 however the amount of arrivals increased after the return of the second solarian expedition, with expeditions and encounters from Zÿlwahl, Choslow and Voidkree arriving at Dzeia. Still, to this day the Confederation mantains no permanent bilateral diplomatic relations with any other country, however communication between the confederation and outside governments occurs at the port of Ŋołtʿokeq.
Military
The Confederation relies upon the Ł̣eeqŋq̇enyw for territorial defence and incursions into enemy territory, comprised of a semi-permanent base of professional soldiers, and the Q̇tenyw, known as the Shadecloak Rangers, for the more permanent guarding and patrolling of the lands. However, since the end of the Last Dze-Human War there has been active military patrolling of areas not yet fully inhabited by Dze tribes, specially along the southern border where the lowlands offer more gateways for invasion, this force is of around 150,000 men spread around a border of 1,600-1,700km. Besides patrolling the border, there is a permanent military presence around Ŋołtʿokeq to prevent foreigners from roaming too far from the settlement without permission.
Equipment
The core of the army is comprised by what can be described as "mounted infantry", with warriors being taught to be proficient in mounted and foot combat. Typical dze warriors are armed with two war bows, a lance and a melee weapon, either a sabre, a falx, an axe or a mace, as well as a round shield. For armour they use external scaled armour and an internal layer of padded felt and lamellar armour on the chest, shoulder protection, wrist guards and extensions to protect the upper legs. To prevent arrows from causing severe damage warriors are encouraged to use a layer of cloth to wrap around the arrow, preventing serrated or hook arrowheads from penetrating too far into the skin. A basic helmet of a metal cap with padded ear covering and a woolen interior for comfort is also highly encouraged. The dze have become infamous as well for their usage of masks to cover their faces in combat, creating ghoulish images in the mind of the enemy, contributing to their element of psychological warfare that they heavily rely on in most campaigns.
This turns the average dze warrior into a heavy cavalry archer, designed to quickly engage and disengage the enemy while still being able to be proficient at melee combat and have enough protection to survive various wounds. The training of the dze to not be reliant on either foot or mounted combat allows for a dze force to use combined infantry and cavalry attacks to devastating effect. Mannish allies of the dze are more diversed in warrior types and specializations, though most prefer to either engage in skirmishing or heavy infantry, complementing potential weaknesses of the typical dze force.
The Shadecloak Rangers on the other hand are much more lightly armoured, preferring the usage of padded armour and their signature Shadecloak, a poorly understood armour used for camouflage that allows for a near total concealment of the user, which the rangers combine with a constant static infrasonic frequency to further cloak themselves by causing enemies to feel a false sense of security by inducing a feeling of relaxation. They are also equipped with padded boots that allow for near-silent walking, a melee weapon of their choosing as well as throwing weapons and a fast, compound bow with specialized arrows that reduce noise as they are shot by emulating noice-cancelling feathers of fauna in the fletching. These warriors also live outside the normal clans in hidden groves and areas, guarding the frontiers and ensuring that these are respected.
Gunpowder usage
Lastly, the dze have begun experimenting with the usage of gunpowder weapons, first discovered by the year 1542 AR by the shaman Ńṭhuuḿ, he would report of this chemical mix and its properties to the Tx̣edzuń. By the time of Tsotʿaan Xanaaq̇ut, fire lances and fire arrows had begun circulating amongst the dze, though Xanaaq̇ut forbid their usage until enough of them were made for his campaign in 1611-1612 in where they would be used to devastating effects in the second half of the campaign, their development is still ongoing, with the dze experimenting with hand cannons and arquebuses as far as visual reporting of patrols around Ŋołtʿokeq has shown warriors carrying these.
Economy
The economy of the confederation has historically been almost exclusively driven by herding, small-scale mining and manufacturing, with smithing and weavering being the two predominant occupations. Mining is done on a very limited scale and usually just to provide the smiths with the materials necessary for their craft. Other than that, the economy of Dzeia is very much underdeveloped and in pre-industrial capabilities, due to both their technological level and their way of life, as well as facing limited potential for growth unless changed, which is something that the government has so far not been keen to do.
Although no exact way of measure has been able to be established, the economy of the confederation is theorized to at best be currently worth US$2.5 billion at most with a potential value of US$150-300 billion with the current diverse array of unexctracted raw resources, specially minerals. Due to a lack of currency all trade in the confederation is conducted through a barter system, recently standardized in 1603 by Tsotʿaan Xanaaq̇ut and ratified in the Tsodzuń of 1612, which places different items of exchange into categories of equal value internally, the most valuable trading goods as determined by this system of categories are metals and alloys like silver, platinum and steel, gems, which have their own independent value amongst themselves, and certain types of seed and livestock animals.
The country has faced pressure to modernize and industrialize its economy both by minor and major forces, however the dze remain firm in the decision to retain their original lifestyles and have refused offers by foreign powers to aid with such a process, even banning most foreigners from exiting Ŋołtʿokeq under the guise of potential unlawful prospecting by foreign countries.
Mining
Despite mining being done on a very minor scale, mineral resources in the form of ingots and gems represent about 40% of all resources exchanged to foreigners at Ŋołtʿokeq. Of the mineral resources exchanged excluding gems, the vast majority is composed by iron, silver and platinum, with a significant portion made of gold, tin and copper ingots.
In recent times, foreign companies and nations have taken an interest in prospecting for rare minerals, however the Dze have staunchly refused all offers and have banned the presence of foreigners in mineral extraction sites as well as banning most foreigners from even exiting the permited area of Ŋołtʿokeq.
Agriculture
Agriculture in the confederation is extremely limited to subsistance farming done by certain human communities and land maintenance by nomadic communities, with farming settlements consisting of around 1.7% of the population at most, and due to factors such as the average height of the country and a shorter growing season in many areas, most of this farming is done in the western areas of the country where the climate is milder.
The agricultural sector therefore is almost entirely driven by nomadic pastoralism, with animals being raised for meat, dairy and fabrics for textiles, most notably animals like the Lequn, Moxun, Tsoqowx̣n or the Ḿo'nƚtśun. With over 50% of the land being used for pastures, specially in the central regions, this is estimated to represent over 70% of the country's currently predicted GDP, with textiles and pelts being some of the most exchanged commodities at Ŋołtʿokeq.
Industry
The most proliferating industries in the confederation are weaving, smithing, jewlery and carpentry, these are practiced at a local level in the clan or tribe and each one of these has its own tradition, or several depending on the ethnic group, all of these represent about 25% of the estimated GDP.
More than 60% of all exports of the country are in the form of luxury goods such as jewlery items, textiles, musical instruments and manufactured wooden items as well as various bronze and steel alloys which are exchanged at Ŋołtʿokeq and represent some of the most expensive commodities in the settlement. The dze themselves however do not have the capacity to mass produce these items in large quantities, which has prevented them from seriously impacting the economic landscape of the country.
Guilds
The Dze do however have what we could see as an early form of the guilds, with smiths being divided into castes to perfect a certain line of work, these are: jewelsmiths, armourers/weaponsmiths and wrights, the latter being responsible for more generalized works such as chains, stirrups and the like, as well as technological inventions such as the dzeii refractional telescopes. These smith guilds are usually attendants to annual meetings amongst the members from all tribes and clans to discuss matters of their craft, alongside with guilds of weavers and carpenters being present in what could be called annual fairs. Much like shamans, these guild members are all initiated in the semi-permanent settlement of Ƚysxḿo'niq and they are to stay there until the rite of passage, usually after five years of training, is completed and they are allowed to return to their tribe and practice their craft.
Infrastructure
Communications
Although a primitive nation in comparison with most countries, the dze have the ability to use infrasonic speech, called Qiŋul, to communicate over long distances which allows for all tribes, clans and settlements to be aware of their surroundings even with the vast majority of the population practicing transhumanism.
The way the dze use qiŋul can be either through their voice alone or through the use of special metal horns, usually of steel, which can amplify this infrasonic wave to travel with more potency, reaching further away. There's long and short horns, with short horns designed to only extend the reach of the wave, while long, trumpet-like, horns grant the sound an initial burst of speed due to the way that sound propagates through metal, allowing for the infrasound to gain an initial speed advantage as well as it's reach being amplified.
Transportation
Due to the transhuman lifestyle of the dze, roads are almost non-existant, however, simply dirt roads connect Ƚysxḿo'niq to various sites in the mountains and they are also found in Ŋołtʿokeq, where they connect the settlement to areas where tribes move into, yet these disappear quickly and are rarely used. There are also roads in native mannish settlements and areas, however they only serve to connect sedentary settlements and rarely extend into nomadic territory.
More commonly, large heaps of stone or totems mark travel routes in the vast forests and steppes and these occur every few hundred metres; used by wandering shamans, messengers and soldiers to more easily know where they are to be heading.
Culture
The most notable aspect of Dze culture is their semi-nomadic lifestyle, widespread among the entire race and even some human groups allied to them, which has lended itself to unique cultural practices, however this blend entirely present in human groups, as the Dze themselves are predominantly a culturally conservative species who seldom, if ever, adopt practices of foreigners, though their internal cultural diversity is most notorious in aspects like music and cuisine.
Dress
Although a very diverse people, in the confederation there's certain dressing universalities, with most peoples using garments such as kneecap-length over-coats for men and ankle-length dresses for women tied with a sash or belt, though these vary from place to place, with the dze living in desertic regions prefering robes. The area with the most diversity for clothing is with footwear, with most people in the nation using different types of boots or similary outfitted shoes with intricate designs and variants.
Headwear is most common in the southern, warmer areas where they are used to cover the head from the heat and sun, whilst in the steppes and some colder areas they are used most commonly in the winter for cover from the wind. Another piece of headwear commonly used are primitive sunglasses, used mostly by clans in the mountains and desert, which are made of finely weaved cloth or reed to protect the eyes in the harshest summers.
Family structure
The inheritance in a traditional dze family is egalitarian, with each child recieving an equal proportion of their parents' livestock and personal items, however due to the dzeii being nomadic there is little to inherit, whilst in human societies it is common for preference to be given to the eldest child as the inheritor of the household, though this varies from group to group.
Extreme priority is placed in caring for the young, due to a mortality rate of 4 in 10 it is not uncommon for every family to have lost at least one child before the age of two, with most cultures having a taboo of naming a child before the age of four due to this phenomenon. Still, most families on average have four children, which has allowed for the start of a massive population growth in the country as it recovers from the numerous, devastating wars that it has endured.
Visual arts
Visual art has been historically created for religious purposes or for the decoration of tents to mark out the individuality of a Dze. Paintings in Dze culture are most recognizable in the Ḳawaq style, usually done on parchment or animal skins/felt. Of these the most common type and well renowned is the Ḿx̣łquƚ or "traditional style". Although most Dze practice different forms of crafts, it is viewed in a positive light to have knowledge in the making of a Ḿx̣łquƚ, if only for decorative purposes, to mark one's own distinctive identity as a creator of objects. Many dze take delight as well in the decoration of tents with depictions of their ancestors or of daily life and general religious motiffs.
Other forms of visual artistic expression include weaving, totem-making and pottery designing, practiced with widely across different clans.
Architecture
Although the Dze themselves do not build stationary homes, humans within their lands are sometimes sedentary, with unique architecture styles that bear evident influence from Dze tent designs. The most prominent of these is the Gyampi Tsak style of the Mong Lak people, designed to inhabit the rainy hills of Hammerfall peninsula that arose in the early 1st milennium BR.
Dze homes are usually called x̣eeḿt, a word that has a broad meaning but is generally understood to be a type of tent, which are mostly circular with a dome-shaped roof or entirely dome-shaped with a few variants being more conical in shape. The x̣eeḿt is the foundation for all Dze-inspired arquitecture, such as the Khet Tsekh, and are famous for their quick assemblage time, with three Dze being able to place a x̣eeḿt in two hours. The materials for building a x̣eeḿt are usually an outer layer of felt, a few layers of skins, a wooden frame to support the structure and a padded cover between a wooden base floor with a woolen carpet on top, while human homes are usually built out of wood, stone and sometimes brick depending on the location.
Music and dance
The Dze, due to their vocal abilities, have integrated bitonic singing into overtone, creating a tritonic chant of infrasound and two audible pitches. Combining what the Dze call "Qiŋul", silent speech, and audible speech they are able to transmit both a mood in the song and to give it an intended effect in its listeners with the silent speech, being the infrasound component and able to have physical effects in those who hear it. The Dze have several variants of fiddles, made of animal gut and hair, whose use ranges from storytelling to every day music, as well as several varieties of drums and flutes. The most famous instruments are the Cewq drum and the Çǫhiq, Miiq and X̣uhun flutes, used by the Eastern Dzeii peoples, like the Nywan tribes.
The music styles in Dzeia are mostly comprised of 3
4, 4
4, 5
4 and 7
8 time signatures, with the most prevalent musical styles being the Long Song, Overtone Singing and a style of music similar to a Taximi. These are usually accompanied by dances in an open circle of which the most famous styles are the Ḳnḳał̣uq or "rain dance", practiced by the Ŋǫłiníí people of the cloudspear peninsula, and the "wind dance" practiced by peoples in the greater range and the adjacent valleys.
Cuisine
Dzeii cuisine predominantly consist of meat, dairy and fats with small contributions from wild vegetables and herbs. The most common dish is smoked or salted meats, be it of a land or aquatic animal's meat, thanks to their long spoiling time, however during feasts and events it is much more common to see roasted meats, cooked directly on the spot. Other frequent sights are stews and soups, specially during winter times, which are made as a way to use as little food as possible to feed as many people without exhausting their limited reserves.
The extreme climatic conditions has influenced the cuisine in the lands, specially for the nomadic peoples where access to vegetables is less standard; for these great majority of peoples the vegetables have, due to their wild nature, extremely sophisticated cooking methods to make the most out of them; spices however are a common part of the cuisine of several groups due to the prevalence of the types of plants needed throughout the land as well as the extensive trade networks present in the land. Dzean cuisine is also very noticeable for the prevalence of fruit and herb kibble-type deserts and drinks.
Sports and festivals
The national festival in the confederation is known as The Games, a milennia-old tradition occurring exactly three days after a Tsodzuń in where skilled sportsmen are sent by all tribes to partake in games honouring the main Dze deities and celebrate the continuation of the unity of the clans, the main traditional sports of the festival are foot and horseback archery, wrestling and horse racing, however in later times activities such as bone flicking and rayhawk games became mainstream as well. Although not celebrated for over two thousand years, in 1612 the festivity was re-instituted by Tsotʿaan Xanaaq̇ut after unifying the country.
Other notable festivals practiced in the confederation are the Dze Lunar Year, occuring on the 16th of Umbra, and the Solar New Year, occuring on the 21st of Umbra, with the period between these festivals being called the Birth of the Five Holy Ones, which are a collection of highly revered deities. Asides that, the Sunhawk Festival is celebrated annually on the month of Magnus in the Central plains by a wide array of clans and the Nang, a religious festivity celebrated by the Mong Lak people in honour of the main Mang Na deities.
