Nazari

## Heraldry

The emblem of the Nazari, an ash branch and a kiriki dagger

The **Nazari** are a highly stratified tribe of humanoids that exist in Crotalusia, primarily in *Nazaria*, and are the de facto rulers of all of the barbaric tribes in the province. The Nazari compose the ruling class of the Crotalusian tribes, exerting their strength through their military and economic might.

Crotalusia, for most of its history, was a highly divided and treacherous region, and only the Nazari have been able to assimilate its diverse cultures and races into a cohesive whole. While its government style takes heavy inspiration from the Arcadian Zemori, the Nazari are far less flexible in their rule, with their social castes being extremely rigid and having an autocratic, unitarian state.

Though formed over a hundred years earlier by remnants of tribes pushed out by Auber in Cascadia, they were unified into the proper nation of *Nazaria* by Pahaliah. The Nazari rapidly incorporated the other barbaric tribes of Crotalusia in exchange for protection against the ambitions of Merovia and the Pontifect, among others.

## Symbolism

Most of the Nazari's symbolism comes from its early history. The use of the "all-seeing eye" is an appropriation of a more ancient symbol known as the Eye of Providence, in which they use it as a means of intimidation: the tribes of Crotalusia are always being watched by the Nazari elite.

The "official" heraldry of the Nazari is their embroidered emblem worn by those who serve the Father of the Mountain directly. The emblem, a *kiriki* dagger and an ash branch, is a conjoined symbol of both the original Order of the Divine Mountain (whose favored weapon for assassination was the *kiriki* dagger) and the lowlander tribes in *Nazaria*, whose own heraldry features an ash tree. The emblem was made by Pahaliah as a token of unity between the two tribes, and it persists to this day as its perhaps best-known symbol.

The Nazari are closely associated with bulls, which is a symbol inherited from some of the tribes of *Nazaria*. The origin of the bull as a tribal identifier is unclear. The most commonly accepted explanation is its relation to the Baldrens, Sasceri insurgents during the Second Perthic War who worshiped Moloch. Their ravaging of eastern *Corrivalia* and *Eragonia* during this dark period continues to be a point of great pain for many of those who live near the Dancers, and the meaning of the bull is not lost to them.

The *wiselevulf* of South Point is used in parts of *Cantabria* as both a tool to incorporate myths and legends into their presence, as well as a means of boasting of how far-reaching Nazari influence extends.

## History

### Under Froki Garspite

#### Order of the Divine Mountain

The Nazari can be traced back to around CE 610, a century after Falian rule ended with the Falian-Fabian split. There has been great difficulty finding out much information about the
origins of the Nazari because sources are either written by
enemies of the Nazari, are based on legends, or were compiled by Pahaliah, who turned a blind eye to the group's questionable activities. Most sources agree, however, that the tribe began to take shape with the first Father of the Mountain, Froki Garspite.

Froki Garspite was well-acquainted throughout Crotalusia and tutored many in dwarvish customs and their language over the century following the Falians' destruction, which led to a number of people becoming his
followers. Using his fame and notoriety, Froki founded the first Order of the Divine Mountain, a dedicated Cult of Alphar that also melded ideas with Goodfellow Hanzo-Norri doctrine and the philosophy of Black Cato. While his motives for founding this order are ultimately
unknown, many scholars speculate it was all for his own political and personal gain
and to also exact vengeance on his enemies. Because of the unrest in Crotalusia caused by the Falian invasion and increasing encroachment by feudal militaries in Arborea, Froki found himself not only fighting for power among other tribes, but also with invading Hiberians and Torrians.

After creating the Order, Froki searched for a location that would be fit for a sturdy headquarters and decided on the fortress at what is now Thintergal, in the borderlands of *Utetoria* and *Nazaria*. The castle, at the time called the Frost Citadel, was built by Goodfellow forces half a millenia before, and now lied mostly in ruin. Froki renovated the fortress to suit his needs; not only for defense from
 hostile forces, but also for indoctrination of his new followers. After
laying claim to Frost Citadel, Sabbah began expanding his
influence outwards to nearby tribes, using his agents to
gain political favour and to intimidate the local populations.

Froki spent most of his days within the Frost Citadel producing religious works, critiquing philosophy, writing literary works, and developing doctrines for his Order. Froki would never leave his
fortress again in his lifetime. He had established a secret society of deadly assassins, which was built on a hierarchical structure. Below Froki, the "Grandmaster" or "Old Man of the Mountain" were the Pentecaust Oculatis ("Overseers of Fifty Sacrifices"), followed by the Companions of the Order, and finally the lowest among them, the Acolytus Immalato ("Acolytes of the Burning Sacrifice"), often refered to simply as the *imma*. The *imma* were the ones trained to be assassins for the Order.

#### Utilizing the *imma*

The *imma*, whose fervent loyalty was unquestioning and self-destructive, were unparalleled in their daring. Diviners were able to source some of their loyalty to the use of hash oil in elaborate and often magically influenced rituals, wherein Froki would utilize sorcerous chants and enchantments to use his *imma* like marionettes to carry out his bidding. This is also somewhat corroborated by stories from the merchant-traveler Alexos Apo.

Regardless of the methods, Froki utilized his *imma* to carry out assassinations, ranging from politicians to great generals. Assassins would rarely
attack ordinary tribesmen, and tended not to be hostile towards women and children.

Although the *imma* were the lowest rank in Froki's order
and were only used as expendable pawns to do the Grandmaster's bidding,
much time and many resources were put into training them. The assassins
were generally young in age, giving them the physical strength and
stamina which would be required to carry out these murders. In addition, Froki often chose his most skilled assassins, the *immacatarii*, from his Boethian assassins, who often proved to be the most skilled and effective among his *imma*.

However,
physical prowess was not the only trait that was required to be an *imma*. To get to their targets, the assassins had to be patient,
cold, and calculating. They were generally intelligent and well-read
because they were required to possess not only knowledge about their
enemy, but his or her culture and their native language. They were
trained by their masters to disguise themselves and sneak into enemy
territory to perform the assassinations, instead of simply attacking
their target outright.

### Pahaliah

After Froki Garspite was killed in the Siege of the Frost Citadel, Pahaliah utilized the scattered fortresses under the control of the Order to unite them under a new doctrine, her Naza Creda. The advent of a great dragon choosing them to build a new nation, especially a merciful dragon that had spared their lives, easily swayed the originally hostile Order to committing to Pahaliah's reformation. She renamed the Frost Citadel "Frost Garden" as one such mark of her less-aggressive nature.

Pahaliah's Naza Creda inherited its name from the region of *Nazaria*, and in a turn of irony, too named the tribe in which she organized. The Nazari took shape at this time, between CE 748 and CE 750. By the middle of the century, Pahaliah had reconstituted all of the Order's fortresses and began to expand into the isolated villages and hamlets in the mountains of Crotalusia. The simultaneously threatening nature of her being a dragon, along with her apparent benevolence, led to rapid recruitment beyond the order and by CE 762, had incorporated most of *Utetoria* and about a third of *Nazaria* into her dominion. Her ability to fly to hard-to-access tribes and the recruitment of Cagots made such incorporation far simpler due to the ability to reach tribesmen in both the highest places and deepest underground.