Za'ah

Beyond the foul, abominable jungles of Tsch-shezuggat , the lands of Az-azágabat and the mires of Koth, there is whispered amongst the wild peoples of the jungles of a Great City - the city of the Radiating Devayani. 
That name is only whispered in quick, frantic breaths, the name of the city that is, and of its people - the Za'ah people.
It is said many things of the city of Za'ah. That it has streets paved with golds and emeralds, that the city floats on a bottomless lake at the centre of the Earth, that the women and men of Za'ah are as beautiful as they are depraved.
That they walk around laded in gold and silver, in transparent clothes and shameless nakedness, that they engage in orgies.
It is a city of canals, temples and pyramids, of gardens of fruits and flowers. Under the surface of grandeur however, intrigues and schemes brew, and beyond them glows the darkness of primordial ctonic daemon demiurges ready to swallow the souls of those who stare into the abyss, underneath the setting sun beyond the Great Pyramid of Sja'zehbahad, the Celestial Wheel.
It is Za'ah, the Goddess City, clad in wealth and beauty, and the heart of evils, ancient and horrible to imagine. Alluring and repelling, seductive and abominable, loathsome and radiating.
And she is the great old prostitute, drinking herself drunk on the blood of countless suffering, as the Great Pyramid continue to rise before the sun for many aeons. And on the Pyramid, an ever awaken eye of terror is gazing down... into your soul.
==Introduction==
Za'ah (Syannic: Zaiā) (Vidstossi: Saja) (Raidhsénian: Zúuh) is the name of a city which also is the popular term for an empire ruled from said city. The formal name of the Empire is Rûkh, and it has many names but is mostly - as aforementioned - known as Za'ah. The inhabitants are known as Za'ahenes. Za'ah is the largest and wealthiest city of the world, even though there are other Za'ahene cities like Jash, Azad, Uzh and Ra'shay. The city is also containing the religious centre of the Devayani, the mysterious god-rulers of Za'ah. The city is mostly known for its temples, pyramids, markets and canals, but also contains many gymnastic stadions, baths and public recreational parks.
As of approximately 200 ABV it apparently had a thriving population of Syannics, chiefly from Tālmoa but resident in the cities of the Rûkhene core for generations - the Syo-Zaiānnic subculture.
==Appearance and manners==
The Za'ahenes are an olive-skinned people with sharp features, generally emerald green eyes and hissing voices. Both males and females are using make-up. Youths dress in tunics while both males and females dress in saris. The clothes are simple for common folk, while they are elaborate and beautiful for higher people. Rural Za'ahenes are only dressing in loincloths, even if it is usual to see Za'ahene urban labourers dressed in such clothes as well. Slaves are usually just wearing loincloths or tunics, unless they are pet slaves or ni'zi (the latter wearing expensive robe-like saris). Za'ahenes have a relaxed relationship to nudity, at least amongst younger people. However, they dislike people who they consider to be ugly or old.
Poor people are shaving their heads, while wealthier people are using wigs or oiling their hair and arranging it in bizarre patterns. It is also popular amongst them to dye their hair, adorn it with jewellery or flowers. Perfumes, skin lotions and similar things are also popular amongst the merchant and artisan classes in Za'ah.
Za'ahenes are outwardly friendly and polite, but can lash out in sudden fits of anger towards subordinates, hitting or verbally abusing those of lower social status. They are competitive and seeking to dominate one another. They are intensely sexual, and sex is seen as recreation within their culture. Affluent Za'ahenes and the Za'ahene middle class are relaxing by engaging in sadistic or masochistic role-plays.
Za'ahenes often seem warm and hospitable, but are shown to be cold, elitist and detached people at a more closer view. Despite this, they enjoy arts, gardens, cuisine, literature and similar. They often talk with a hissing intonation.
==History==
The Za'ahenes are secretive, and not much is known about their history previous to their encounter with the Vidstos and the Syannics.
==Government==
Za'ah is an Empire governed by the Devayani, who control the Ar'yah (the standing military) and the Ni'zi (a caste of slave bureaucrats). There are several cities in the Za'ahene Empire, most well-known is Za'ah, which are autonomous and have local governments. The Devayani are considered to be gods, and are worshipped as a polytheistic collective. They seldom appear in public, but seem to consist of several noble houses, which also are functioning as trading houses. The Devayani are also religious heads of the state religion, and are thus controlling the Múza'ni - the priests and healers of Za'ah. Provinces (Nomarchies) have separate financial, administrative and military authorities, and the formal governors (nomarchs) have little power but much prestige.
There are eleven Houses of Devayani. The formal ruling body of Za'ah is The Council of Thirteen, which consist of eleven representatives of the Houses, and two chairpersons, who are selected on a rotating basis per every House. The Council of Thirteen is not making any public statements, and most Za'ahenes seldom hear of it. It prefers to govern through indirect methods, and it is most often meeting in secret.
==Laws==
===Villages and rural regions===
The villages are governed by a mixture of traditional rules and norms, and the guidance of the Múza'ni, with the Múza'ni serving as the legal representatives of Za'ah. Actions like murders, rape and theft are illegal, unless they are approved beforehand by the local múza. Punishments are brutal beyond measure, and usually means the disfigurement and crippling of perpetrators. There are however a wide divergence between villages within the Za'ahene Empire, where some are small bronze age towns and some are primordial hunter-gatherer settlements. Village interrelationships tend to be built on divergent status between villages, were some villages get to be superior to others and can have their neighbours as serfs. Every village performs symbolic sacrifices to the Devayani. Human sacrifices do occur.
===Cities and urban regions===
Za'ahene cities are characterised by central urban planning. People who migrate to the cities must buy a clay plate where their address and family names are engraved. This clay tablet is a legally binding document for residence in the city, and stipulates early renewal and also the signing of the local city charter. The cities have variations, but tend to outlaw murder, theft, vandalism, arson, duels and extortion. Violations of the charter can lead to slavery or exile from the city. The urban múza'ni have no legal functions, but múza'ni can serve as councillors and law experts.
==="The Game of Lives"===
The Game of Lives is a secretive game played amongst the artisans and merchants of Za'ah and other cities. It is a combined board and card game, where players can receive quests from one another, which are considered to come from the Mú. The quests could be innocent or merely sexual, but can also stipulate very serious criminal offences. The person forced to partake in such schemes are thus bound together in a pact of silence, out of fear from the city authorities. However, the winners are rewarded with higher status, and elevations within the gaming community, which often means that people who have advanced much in society also have played the game successfully. The losers often become the de-facto sex slaves of the winners. The purpose of the game is to attain dark energy from the Mú dimension, to defy the Devayani and attain more sexual and magical powers. Some people do however claim that the Devayani created the game originally.
==Religion==
===The Mú===
The Za'ahene Múza'ni are claiming that the physical world is a garden for malevolent spirits known as the Mú, who lie behind the inevitable cycle of life and death. The Mú can only be approached either through dark rituals, or through the Múza'ni, who are communicating with the Mú using hallucinogenic drugs. The Mú are said to be torturing those who die in the afterlife, in order to destroy their souls so new souls can be reaped from them. The Mú are not worshipped, but feared.
===The Devayani===
The Devayani, or the Divine Children, are worshipped as the gods of Za'ah. They are seen as very powerful beings who can harness the energy of the Mú and who are protecting the Za'ahenes against the Mú. They do however require offerings, in the shape of tributes on the provincial level, and sacrifices on the local level. Only the Múza'ni are performing prayers and rituals to the Devayani. Human sacrifices do occur in the countryside.
==See Also==
Castes and Classes in Za'ah
Category:Cities
Category:Nations
Category:States
Category:Za'ah
Category:Empires
Category:Capital cities
Category:Moaseraiana