Cultuni

Sephra & Saskia Valentine (circa 2018)

> “In the safety of the herd, one has little reason to use their horns.” **- An unnamed Wise-One, The Spiritual Leaders of the Cultuni**
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The Cultuni have a rigid but peaceful way of life. Worshipping the gods is different for them than in the larger civilizations of Haven, working in tandem with their cultural norms, but their main focus is the capacity of every being to reach enlightenment or freedom from the illusions of ego created by the mind. This capacity can be reached through meditation, but not by following certain rituals, adhering to rules or imitating the example of others, however worthy a hero may be. One must only be alert and have a non-judgemental attentiveness to one's own thoughts, actions, and feelings. When one practices this alertness, this meditative approach to life, it soon brings the awareness that we each contain an unchanging, undisturbed, and eternal center of watchfulness. A center that has the capacity to see life as a great adventure and a blissful journey with no purpose other than to delight every step of the way. Cultuni believe that through these practices, they can escape the cycle of rebirth, the cycle of pain and mortality, and ascend to peace, tranquility and rest by gaining a full connection with and memory of all of their past lives. Due to being so high up in the mountains of Hiyehm, the magical rays of Tanana’s Herald, Sol, affect the eyes of the Cultuni; most of them go blind by the age of 60. Cultuni have naturally poor eyesight and therefore their perception by sight is hindered as they age.

### **Appearance**

The Cultuni are humanoid with excessive amounts of white to shades of gray hair upon the backs of their hands, face, arms, and legs and their hair is longer than the Genma or the Hillanders. They wear large fur lined or fur trimmed clothes for surviving in the extreme temperatures at the top of the world, however, while inside their temples they wear a ceremonious robe that is as white as the snow around them, simple and non luxurious. Their tails are the same colour as their skin and end with the same colour hair as upon their head. Food Their main source of food is Yak, which they herd through the mountain peaks. The yaks provide them furs for their clothes, their skin and leather are formed into bowls and containers, bones for tools, and meat and milk for sustenance. Their eagles are used for hunting other meats as well as fetching roots and rare berries from cliff faces. They grow some grains on extremely thin strips of land along the cliff faces of the mountains as well.

### **Trade & Commerce**

The Cultuni ride their yaks down the mountain face towards trading posts at the base of the mountains. They mostly trade the pups from their dogs, and products made from their yak herds, along with rare pelts from mountain animals. Their biggest trade commodity is ice from the mountains and the frozen lakes.

### **Geography**

The Cultuni rest upon the peaks and around the outskirts of Shaata’s Rest, a once great valley that Shaata lays sleeping in, located between the tallest mountains within Hiyehm.

The Cultuni with their connection to the Great Spirit Dog and Eagle, trade their puppies as pets and working animals to the other races. They also trade in knowledge and items made from their yaks. Surprisingly, their biggest trade is ice to the lower races by transporting them on large sleds driven by either their dogs or their yaks. The Cultuni are also in possession of the largest library in Haven that is housed in Tramontane (unbeknownst to many who believe it to be the one located in Grecale), and the Cultuni protect this trove of ancient knowledges from the rest of the world to prevent widespread chaos and destruction. The Gemna have sent several parties digging up through the mountain to try and forcibly claim some of the military knowledge they hold, however, the majority of these parties have been neutralized by the Cultuni’s “Monks” or they have joined the Cultuni and their ways. It is said in legend that when one gains the knowledge of the cultuni they “become” cultuni and never leave the mountaintop.

### **Art**

The Cultuni’s most prominent pieces are their mandalas which are drawn upon skin, floors, walls, made into tapestries, put on dishes, etc. They believe that the harmonious nature of the mandala, finding balance within the colours and the patterns helps focus the mind and calm the spirit. Mandala’s are also known to tell stories starting with images from the inside and moving outwards, and expressions of the soul moving from the outside towards the truth on the inside. Their main form of musical art is Resonance Chanting, finding a specific pitch, holding notes, letting those resonate off the walls of their temples or through the mountains. They believe certain tones carry with it an ability of its own. The lower the tones the more helpful to the body, while higher tones incite adrenaline.

### **Traditions and Holidays**

* **Day of Light** - When Sol lingers in the sky for longer than any other day the Herald joins the Cultuni in the head Temple. Because of how bright he shines, they bow their heads in not only reverence, but to preserve what little sight they possess. He tells them stories about Haven and what goes on below, and in return, they offer him songs, art, and give him proper thanks.

* **Shaata’s Return** - Historically this was the day Shaata, the great Frost Giant, returned from his long walk with the old Empress Brea and was a joyous day to the Cultuni. They would watch as the ice giant lumbered over the mountains as if they were stepping stones and then fall to rest within. Now it is a day for somber reflection.

* **Shaata’s Rest** - the Valley between the Hiyehm mountain peaks. They would evacuate the valley and retreat to their temples where they would hunker down for the long cold season ahead of them. As he lay down to rest, every Cultuni would use their resonance singing to chant a specific tone to lull their protector to sleep. Now that Shaata has laid his final rest it is a somber festival of history and respect. Stories of the past are shared and legends told. As a show of tradition the Cultuni still use their resonance singing to share their appreciation and love for their protector in hopes that his rest will be easy and through it he may wake again.

* **Shaata’s Leave** - Historically Brea would come to the Valley and wake up her husband from his long and deep 3 month slumber, to which he would leave the valley, allowing the Cultuni to leave their temples and venture down back into the valley to live, trade, work, etc. This day now represents a day of mourning. The Cultuni attempt to use their resonance singing to wake the sleeping giant once more, but to no avail. Without Brea to melt his heart all the Cultuni can do is hope and sing. Some swear they have seen him shudder or move, even the tiniest bit, during particularly intense periods of song, but Shaata remains sleeping, ever waiting for his love to return and bring him home.

### **Military**

They don’t have an official military, however they train “Monks” within the temples as a way of teaching discipline and control during Shaata’s Breath. While the body may be a vessel, one must respect their vessel and train with it to reach a better understanding of oneself. Training to become a Monk is volunteered, but then rigorously upkept once one starts. The Monks are the Cultuni’s last bastion of defence and are generally seen as a last resort if all of their verbal negotiations and warnings fail.

## **Social Structure**

Each Temple that holds a small community of the Cultuni, has a Wise-One who is the eldest and most experienced. While not so much leaders, they are guides for the younger generation and assist them in coming to get in touch with their past lives and travel the path of enlightenment Sensus set their people on long ago.

## **Cultuni History**

### **First Era (before year 0):**

* **The First Human/Gemna War** - In the early days of the world, the Cultuni were driven to the Hiyehm Mountains by the Humans, but unlike the Gemna who dug down into the Mountains or the Hillanders who took to the base of the Mountains, the Cultuni saw their only path as the path up into them.

### **Second Era: (0-1499):**

It was at the dawn of the second era, after the suffering and losses seen in the war with the Humans that Sensus gifted them their gift of reincarnation, not only helping their heavily weakened population survive, but also allowing them to reflect on the past and injustices of the world, and forever seek to be better than that. They then spent much of the Second Era figuring out their ways and teaching themselves to seek the enlightenment still sought after today.

### **Third Era (1500-2019):**

It was at this time that the Cultuni first made their way back down from the highest peaks and began interacting with the other races of the world again. They found however, to their sadness, a world of violence and tragedy, of greed and obsession. A few tried to teach the people of the world below of peace and harmony, but little luck was had as they were so set in their ways. They did not try this again until the war of time.

* **The War of Time (2018-2019)** - The Cultuni partook not in the War of Time, as due to their pacifistic ways they had no true army or military force, and so they meditated deeply.

### **Fourth/Current Era (2020-2277):**

The War of Time along with the Gemna Revolution beneath their feet shook the Cultuni, but it was when one of their cultural icons, the great Frost Giant Shaata, entered his seemingly eternal slumber and there was no more Empress to wake him that the die was cast and their role in the world became clear to them. They would need to be the ones to guide the people of Haven into a new era of enlightenment, of peace and harmony. They had to, for who would be next to fall dormant? As it turned out, it was the great god of the earth Zet’tallan who was next to fall silent, the patron god of all wanderers, including the Nomads. Recently a cultuni who had children with a Noxcess was able to produce two female Noxcess, something they thought had become an impossibility, and so they routinely bring gifts to the Cultuni in thanks, treating them with great respect whenever they meet.

## **Folklore & Cultural Figures**

### **The Eagle and the Hound**

Long ago, a Cultuni rescued the Great Spirit Eagle and the Great Spirit Hound from the Hollow, saving both of their species from extinction. The Cultuni died in the process though, and lost his soul to the Hollow. In exchange for their noble sacrifice, Eagle and Hound offered a bond between its species and the Cultuni for all time. When a Cultuni reaches age, they are guided to the nests of Eagles within the mountains, where a Cultuni may take an eagle fledgling freely without resentment from Eagle or its species, to be trained and taken as a hunting companion. Hound became the Cultuni’s most lovable and faithful of companions, working hard to please and work for the people that saved their Spirit. They pull sleds and herd the Cultuni’s yak herds through the mountains and across the great valley that lies in the center of the Hieyhm mountains.

### **The Frost Giant** **Shaata**

Once the husband of the legendary Empress Brea, every fall the ancient frost giant Shaata would come to slumber, his sleeping breath bringing Winter to the world, covering all in frost. While he slumbered, he was watched over by the Cultuni, and over the Eras he became central to their culture. So the day Brea no longer lived to waken him and his slumber became eternal, the Cultuni took a blow they could never fully recover from. Now the holidays they once celebrated in his honour have become solemn occasions, remembering what once was and silently praying for his eventual awakening.