Gaarim

Gaarim
Starting Location: 
South of Dzitocampal, in the mountains. The capital is located just north of the little island in the little bay west of the Zar and south of the Dzitocampal, and the other territories and tribal ranges are surrounding it. 
Society: 
The culture is split between the more urban, settled folk and the semi-nomadic tribes. The tribes usually have a high chief who also serves some religious function as a master of ceremonies (though the majority of religious affairs will be handled by a separate priest). Depending on their affiliated cult, the tribes may be matriarchal, patriarchal, or simply passing leadership to the individual most closely related to the previous ruler. The tribes follow the general direction of the leader, but do not have any real castes or social classes besides the royals and the priests.
With the settled folk, the social classes are more defined and numerous. The rulers are at the top, followed by the priests. The nobility come in a close third. Below these are the merchants, often minor nobles. On the next step down, the artisans, poorer farmers, soldiers, and civil service are all considered essentially equal. The next lowest rung is occupied by the slaves, though they have a fair number of rights. A comparison would be the slaves in the Aztec Empire - rarely bought or sold, able to own property and marry, and almost never passing on the title of slave. The bottom of society are those who are not of the Azurim religion. For the brief window they have to exist as such, they are used as forced labor comparable to the system of slavery in the United States South prior to the civil war. However, they are soon presented with the choice of either conversion or being sacrificed. The former will sometimes lead to, eventually, freedom and naturalization.
Lineage:
People trace their lineage through familial or tribal heritage. Surnames are ordered, with the family name of the male parent coming first and the female parent coming after. If a person’s parents both have the same familial/tribal background, their single surname is preceded by “Ha’”.
Values: 
The Gaarim view diligence, respect, and piousness as the best qualities a person can have. However, other characteristics are valued, such as initiative (in the military), passion (for the artisans and clergy), shrewdness (in merchants), and charisma (for nobles).
Religion(s): 
Gaarim religion is polytheistic, based around concentric circles of worship - first of all is Gaaru, the god of fire and technology, synonymous with the dominance of mankind. His sacrifices are stabbed with blades of iron and bronze, each covered in writing, then burned. He is part of the Inner Circle of gods, the Azurim. Besides Gaaru, there is Hakkaalu (the god of the earth and the stone - victims have their skulls caved in with a black basalt stone, then are buried in black soil. He is also the god of death, as the earth and the stone is still and unmoving), Saarnu (the god of day and night, the sun and the moon - victims are cut by curved knives, one of gold - the golden curve of the sun, one of silver - the golden curve of the moon, and burned - given to the fires of the sun. Their bones are retrieved and placed in a dark chamber - they experienced the sun and then the night.), Uraz (the god of flora, crops, and jungles - victims are hanged first on a tree, becoming the fruit of the tree, then are cut down and skinned. The skin is tanned and made into a cloak, which is worn by a priest - this represents the regrowth of plants and crops. She is also the goddess of life, as plants are that which defies death and decorate the earth. They also can regenerate), and Zilaaru (the goddess of weather and water - sacrifices are cut and then thrown off of a high place over water, letting the wind taste their blood and then letting the water take their life.). Each god has a special cult.
Past these are the outer gods, who govern more specific aspects of life or new things discovered. 
Mythology frequently involves heavenly wars or quests among the Azurim, as every outer god is in fact a disciple of one of the Azurim.
Temples are typically made so as to honor all of the Azurim at once, though with a particular focus on a single god (perhaps even one from the outer circle). These are found in cities and agricultural regions as well as scattered throughout the region in the jungles; frequently, tribes will make camp by a temple for a time, or build one. The exceptions are the large temples in the capital and also at the sprawling holy complex of Igaazur. The principle temples at both of these locations are dedicated to all of the Azurim at once. 
Temples are built to be very tall. They are almost always built out of black basalt, with the main altar made of green soapstone. The big temples are built essentially as towers, and are very blocky and angular (think the tower of Pisa but taller, wider, and square). They generally taper slightly, but as much as possibly tapering is avoided.
Language(s): 
I’ll have to make a more proper conlang at some point, but the language sounds harsh and guttural. Think a cross between Sumerian/Akkadian and R’Lyehian (the language that all of the weird inscriptions/prayers in the writings of Lovecraft are in). There are lots of hard consonants and low vowels. “aa” is pronounced almost as a croak, similar to the sound that the a makes in “all”, but longer. “i” is usually pronounced “ee”. “a” is usually pronounced in the same way as “aa”, but is much shorter in length. “a’a” is pronounced as two “a” sounds separated by a full stop halfway through. “u” is pronounced as in “pure”. 
The sounds “u” and “z” are reserved for religious and deity names.
The writing system is primitive, and based around stone carvings and captions. The best description or similarity would probably be a sharper, angular Hebrew script, with the additional difference of having vowels represented by characters in the script, rather than attached to consonants. 
There is a separate religious script, which is similar to the standard writing system but has all letters “hanging” off of a constant bar above them. The bar breaks between words. No letters ever cross the top of the bar.
All writing is read right to left.
Mythos: 
In the beginning, Saarnu rotated the sky while the other gods sat and waited. Hakkaalu created the earth for the moon to light, for at that point there was no fire in the sun. Zilaaru filled the seas, and the skies with storms. One day, a bolt of lightning struck a dry rock. This created a spark, from which was born Gaaru. Gaaru possessed the spark, and guided it into the sky, where he lit the sun on fire. This made day. With the light, fair Uraz made the plants grow from the earth, urged upward by the sun. From a falling stone she made all animals, and from the Spark Stone (which Gaaru had been spawned from) she made humans. All of the animals lived like this for a long time, until Hakkaalu became angry at Gaaru’s lighting of the sun and enlisted Zilaaru to aid him. He knew Gaaru favored the humans, as they had been born of the same stone, so he made the sky become a permanent night and made Zilaaru pelt the primitive humans with storms. When the humans were near death, Gaaru allowed them the secret of fire, and metal, and writing. Armed with these tools, the people made homes and temples, and made their fires turn night into day. When they prayed to Zilaaru, she ceased to make the skies stormy, and being convinced by Gaaru, helped Uraz in allowing crops to grow. Faced with forgiving humans and artificial day, Hakkaalu relented and allowed the sun to return. 
Economic Base: 
Domestically, farming is the basis of the economy. Estates produce mostly food crops, though some produce spices or cash crops. Artisans produce goods which are taken by merchants for overseas trade with the Trahana and the peoples to the south and the east. This trade fuels the economy and brings goods that would be hard to get otherwise, such as certain crops and animals, advanced weapons and tools, and people to bring on as sacrificial captives or laborers.
Country Names: 
Gaarim (preferred), Azurim, Daf’Shanaal
Person Names: 
Akkaal Ha’Gaar (m), Gaarak Saar Zilaar (m), Nilaan Ekksaman Gaar (f), Saarnak Ha’Ma’ak (m), Tazlat Hakkaal Shanaal (f), Nagali Igaa Ma’ak (f), more upon request
Place Names: 
Daf’Shanaal, Ekksamanim, Ma’akal, Igaazur
Architecture:
The Gaarim build squarish, blocky buildings out of grey stone as government buildings. Nobles generally have houses in the hills or rock spires overlooking their estates. Often, much of their houses lie underground. What is above ground is built out of grey stone and wood. They have a slightly different aesthetic, similar to the Brochs of Iron-Age Scotland, but larger and with tapering wooden roofs. Peasant houses in the country often have a stone foundation, rounded ends, and tapering wooden roofs extending beyond the foundations. In the city, houses of the non-nobility are generally squat and made out of grey stone. Floors are generally stone or dirt, though in higher stories of noble houses they are made of wood. 
Category:West
Category:South
Category:Countries