People of Ash

> *"If you see two or more ash born in a room, something is going on. Work projects, conspiracy, war. Its a rare sight to find one of them that isn't busy or looking something to do. Good or ill, a pack of greyskin are always an omen."* -Traveler's guide, people of Primus-
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The **People of Ash** are an ethnic group of **Primus** that inhabit the **Ashed city states** in the **Midlands****.** They are considered a hardy industrial people that value simple, functional, often **brutalistic** craftsmanship on an industrial scale.

Every Ashed strives to find excellence in their chosen field, often found in their adolescence. Finding a trade that one both enjoys and excels at is akin to spiritual enlightenment and finding one's place in the world, often called "finding one's shape".

 History

> *"Hearing the old tales, the ash born used to be an accepting, leisurely people. They had no thoughts for barriers or vigilance against others. The cities now sound of the constant ringing of metal and smell of acrid smoke, the constant smell of wood dust and sound of steel on tree trunks, rattling of wheels carrying carloads of goods. Seeing their high walls of stone and iron, and the chilling silence of their mercenaries, I wonder what it is that changed them so."* (Merchant's journal, Second age)
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   The Ashed were a scattered peoples that stretched far and wide over the Middle Lakelands with sparse populations that were primarily agrarian in nature. During the **Dawn era** they spent their days leisurely fishing and hunting in the lakes and forests of the area. Excesses of driftwood in the north and forests made the area renown for wood carpentry as the peoples of the areas embraced the craft.

Starting in the **First age** barbarian incursions began expanding into the area, wiping out entire townships, causing the locals to begin clustering their centers of civilization together. This slowed the once abundant flow of natural resources, the Ashed struck a deal with traders in order to continue to feed themselves, their craftsmanship would be sold as traders would bring the materials to them, and they began branching from wood to other materials.

A Rakkaan migration began a terrible incursion into the lands, overrunning many of the proto-cities they came across, causing the populations to flee in mobile military camps. Under their leadership, the Ashed congregated these camps onto naturally defensible positions, the merchants shifted the trade routs to these new camps, and they began the long slow process of building high stone walls. As their civilization grew, they expanded their walls in order to not leave themselves vulnerable.

## Appearance

### **Morphology**

The people of Ash tend to be half a head shorter than most peoples of Primus, strongly built with sharp features, black hair and eyes. Their skin tone tends to have little pigment, giving them a washed out, grey complexion. Northern Ashed are dark of complexion, where southern Ashed tend to be pale.

### **Clothing**

Ashed fashion tends towards well made, well tailored clothing that hugs the body. Ashed rarely have extended wardrobes, preferring to only have different outfits if specialized clothing is needed. The clothing is often tied to the body by use of multiple fine cloth sashes.

Clothing for leisure is often very thin and worn in layers as to be stripped according to the temperature, work clothing is often thick, leather, and absent of sleeves or anything that can be caught on sharp edges.

#### **Colors**

Clothing in the Ash lands is usually dyed with muted colors that reflect little light instead hinting at the color it is meant to be. Colors that are too reflective or loud are considered gaudy and almost rude to wear in public.

#### **Embroidery**

While modest at first glances, Ashed clothing is more often than not woven with embroidered patters of different colors. This allows even for the same form of garment to come in a limitless number of forms and patterns. The quality of the embroidery often is a mark of status or fashion sense.

#### **Trade sashes**

All Ashed wear sashes of fine leather over their shoulder or waist that is stamped with the mark of their trade and company of employment. Other proficiencies are marked onto this leather as they acquire skills and certifications in their life. A particularly skilled or experienced ashed will carry a sash that is marked all along its surface.

## Law

### **Punishment**

The Ashen laws were written during the time of siege when every resource was needed to keep the Ashed alive and safe. Due to the harsh nature of their beginnings, the law is equally simple and harsh. The cities under siege could ill afford disorder and therefore had to make choices for the greater good of the whole.

#### **Reparation**

In simple cases of theft or destruction of property, often times it was simple enough for the offender to pay the wronged party in either property or coin. Vandalism, littering and other small offenses are often repaid simply by having the offender undo whatever damage they did. Should they be unable to they must instead repay though other labor. Skilled laborers oftentimes find themselves working off their debt to the wronged party by performing specialized tasks for them or the city.

#### **Labor**

In cases where the offender cannot simply repair or repay a victim such as disorderly conduct, or destruction of something they cannot pay for or have not the skill to repair, the offender must labor for the city to repay their debt at low wages. This work is usually construction, ditch digging, or cleaning.

#### **Exile**

In cases where an Ashed has proven themselves incapable of living peacefully within the city through repeated offenses, they may often be cast out of the city on pain of death should they return.

#### **Death**

Executions are carried out by way of a hammer and spike delivered to the skull. It is considered relatively painless and immediately fatal.

#### **The Half death**

During the Dawn era when the Ashed lived under siege in their walled fortress cities by the bandit kingdoms, an executioner realized that on occasion a single spike through the front of the skull would not kill the recipient of the execution order. This instead left them dazed and almost hollow in personality and will. This punishment was soon perfected and spread as the "half death"

The half death leaves the recipient alive but almost completely destroys the human's personality, will, and mental capacity aside from being able to follow simple commands and be aware of their surroundings. In cases where half death is issued, many will either request a full execution or give themselves to the carvers for dismemberment and recycle shortly afterwards rather than live out the rest of their lives as a hollow shell. This has led to the belief that Ashed executioners have the ability to remove a person's soul.

Recipients of the half death can live long lives, though they usually require someone to tell them what to do to have any motivation.

### **Ordinals**

Ashed Ordinals are the keepers of the peace inside the walls of the city state. They are made up of teams of two 16-18 year old Ashed serving mandatory time in the local guard and a veteran officer who chose Lawkeeping as a profession.

Professional ordinal training involves emphasis on grappling fighting styles and striking at painfully disabling but not fatal areas of the body. They wear heavy armor with padded knuckles on the gauntlets. They carry leather padded truncheons, irons, and crossbows with blunted tips. Injuries to the lawbreaker are considered the lawbreakers fault during arrest unless it is abundantly clear with multiple witnesses to prove otherwise. Resisting ordinals is an easy way to receive a beating with weighted clubs, running from an Ordinal is a sure way to catch a blunted iron bolt to the back of the head.

Every Ashed citizen serving in the city watch in theory instills a sense of duty and kinship with the watch. In most cases ordinals seize a lawbreakers and send them to a judge for processing. In some simple cases such as drunken disorderly it is easy enough to simply send the lawbreaker home with a warning.

## Society

### **Status**

Status in the Ashed city states is determined by how competent one is at their job and how content one is with their life. Every job, if it has a market, is considered worthwhile, the better one is at what they do and the lack of stress or irritation with their profession.

Guild affiliation affects ones status. Guild status is determined by a handful of factors including income, quality of production, and the treatment of employees. Status of a guild can rise or fall depending on the actions of the guild master or work ethic and production quality of their employees. Should the status of a guild fall, the workers may choose to either stay and try to save the company or leave for better prospects. A guild head may choose to step down and take a lesser position and appoint a more competent replacement to salvage their status.

### **Family**

> *"Youth is the time for sampling what bounties the world of romance has. As fun as it may be, it is a great comfort when you find the ones you want to truly live with"*
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While the Ashed generally have multiple poly amorous relationships in their youth, they tend to form lasting family units while having and raising children. These family units tend to involve 2-5 adult partners with the general distribution being 1.5 women to 1 man, however this ratio can fluctuate.

When having children, an Ashed breeding pair will agree to stop the ingestion of fertility inhibiting herbs and only see each other for a time. The families will generally all pitch in in raising said children, people involved in these families are not bound by law with the exception of direct bloodline parents being responsible for the upbringing of children sired.

## ~~Religion~~

> *~~"Everyone must find their purpose and place. You will know you have found it when you feel like you truly belong"~~* ~~(Ashed plumber talking about the World Engine)~~
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~~The Ashed follow no official religion and often hold the worship of gods and immortals with a measure of disdain. Many dismiss the idea as being little more than superstition despite the fact that their civilization was founded by one such creature.~~

~~Despite their lack of religion, they do follow the philosophy of the world engine, which states that everything in the world serves one function or another, and is all equally important for existence to continue. A farmers purpose is to provide food, the crops exist to die or be harvested, the builder exists to build, the soldier exists to protect, and that the height of enlightenment is to find one's purpose, the greater contentment one feels in their existence, the greater the fit they are in their current position in the world.~~

~~The Ashed may refer to people being made of various materials such as stone, iron, or wood to describe their temperament or personality, and referring to people as different tools or simple machine parts to describe what they are proficient in. Even those made of dirt can still be used to grow crops.~~

~~In a perfect wold for the Ashed, no one would feel discontent with their position in life, nor would others seek to disrupt the lives of others, for all would be in balance working together, some errant pieces of the machine that seek to disrupt it must be removed.~~

* ~~The Ashed commonly follow the philosophy of Heart of Steel~~

## ~~Cuisine~~

> *~~"You never know if the Greyskins are going to offer you something delicious or horrifying"~~* ~~(Broken Kingdom knight on pilgrimage)~~
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### **~~Common foods and consumables~~**

~~Ashed eat a varied diet suited to their long hours of consistent energy expenditure. The staples of the diet consist mostly of legumes, beans, nuts, acorns, farmed fish, potatoes and squashes. These food sources are farmed outside of the city walls. Stew or bisque paired with a solid side are common.~~

* ~~The most common forms of alcoholic beverages are ciders and mead made from from apple orchards.~~
* ~~The Ashed cultivate or import large amounts of smokable herbs that have varying affects on the body that are often taken on work breaks~~

### **~~Insects~~**

~~Ashed see no issue with eating the lower orders of food such as insects and arachnids. They find them incredibly practical solutions to spoiled food. Swarms of crickets are often kept in reserve so that spoiled food can be consumed by them, the crickets are then harvested and sold at market, often baked and salted for flavor.~~

* ~~There are few pest problems in Ashed city states due to the Ashed people eating them all.~~

### **~~Tak~~**

~~In times of famine or siege, the stored non perishable foodstuff "Tak" loaves are rationed to citizens of the cities. At any time, Ashed citizens are allowed to take Tak rations from the city vaults, the amount per day based on their current weight. Most citizens choose to eat anything other than Tak.~~

~~Tak is made out of dried and powdered meat, vegetables, insects, nuts, grains, compressed into bricks and sealed with edible glue. Tak will last for decades if not centuries if preserved and kept in dry spaces. The flavor is described as dry, chalky, and bland.~~

* ~~Some Ashed use Tak as a soup stock or flour additive to both improve the flavor of the tak and nutritional value of the meals it is added to.~~

## ~~Culture~~

> *~~"You can always expect two things from the Ash born. They are nearly impossible to deter once given a task, and they don't care about any problem that doesn't affect them directly"~~* ~~(Unclaimed miner an apprentice after trying to make small talk with an Ashed steel merchant)~~
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~~The Ashed have a culture steeped in stoicism and the pursuit of productive purpose. They prize competence, resilience, and serenity.~~

~~Ashed culture is dual in nature, often referred to as "on or off the press". During working hours, Ashed are consummate professionals, focusing almost entirely on their task, completing them as quickly and efficiently as possible, interrupting them as they work is difficult and considered rude unless there is an urgent matter at hand. During their "Off the press" time, they are relaxed and sociable, still valuing quiet even in large groups.~~

~~Cultural prominence is gained by proficiency at one's job. Every job is considered equally important as to the functioning of a society and city so long as there is a demand for it. As even luxury items bring joy and relieve stress which allows people to function properly.~~

~~The Ashed raise children in pairs of parents, however there is no official legally binding contract for the two parents. When Ashed choose to have children it is often an informal agreement between the two that they will have and raise their offspring together, commonly living together for a few months or years before making the decision. Due to the easy availability and lack of stigma associated with birth control few unwanted children are born. Unwanted children are refers to as "Spills" and are the responsibility of both parents to take care of.~~

* ~~The Ashed value cleanliness and durability in their living spaces above other attributes~~
* ~~Overt or purposeless displays of wealth or hoarding wealth is considered indecent~~
* ~~Being loud without purpose is considered indecent~~
* ~~The Ashed have no taboos considering nudity~~
* ~~The only sexual taboos Ashed have involved unwilling participants or activity between children and adults~~
* ~~Clothing fashion in the Ashed emphasizes durability and craftsmanship~~
* ~~Ashed often dress in muted colors in blue and grey~~
* ~~Carrying weapons is common, however it is suspicious to wear armor unless one is a guard or active mercenary~~
* ~~The Ashed are not a superstitious people, preferring to look for simple explanations based on evidence~~

### **~~Smoke herbs~~**

~~The Ashed culture includes the consumption of smokable plants that are either smoked through pipes or wrapped in the dried leaves of said herbs. These herbs vary greatly in many different blends. They include, stimulants, depressants, and herbs that simply exist to give a pleasing scent to the air around them.~~

### **~~Domesticated creatures~~**

**~~Giant Boar-~~**~~such as their massive domesticated boars that serve as beasts of burden, food, and war mounts. They are intelligent animals that can eat nearly anything and have a stubbornness that rivals their owners. These specially bred boar can reach size and weight between 800-1400 pounds and are known to have a wide range of temperaments and personality traits.~~

**~~Pangolins~~**~~-Pangolins are one of the few creatures the Ashed keep as dedicated pets. Pangolins are small armored creatures the size of dogs and subsist mainly on insects.~~

### **~~Book and card Culture~~**

~~Ashed typically have demanding jobs that keep them physically active for the majority of work days, in their leisure time, though many Ashed are robust and recover quickly, others may take their time off the press to enjoy more sedentary activities. Novels, board games and card games such as MilCard are often imported to feed this demand.~~

### **~~Suicides~~**

> *~~"Life isn't for everyone, some cannot handle it and some need guidance. Our first priority is healing, but If we cannot heal the mind we can at least ease their suffering"~~*
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~~Ashed culture acknowledges that there will be those that wish to "clock out early" or end their lives. These people are encouraged to seek help and heal the same as if they have a physical injury. In the case that they are inconsolable, they have two options that leave them with dignity after death.~~

* ~~The first option is to "Go into the wall" or to give themselves to the "Carvers" the Ashed that are responsible for recycling the dead. The carvers ensure they die a painless and peaceful death. Every bit of them is recycled and used for a purpose. Their bone often turned to lime to be used in cement, and the carbon from their bone going into steel building supports, thus they become a part of the city.~~
* ~~The second option is to become a "Death seeker" for the Ashed mercenary guilds. The mercenary guilds give them relatively light scale armor, a pair of swords, a vial of "Berserker drink" which is a powerful stimulant similar to Goran "Divinity" and a vial of fast acting poison in case of capture. They are sent on suicide missions and their names and mission recorded in the "Book of Sacrifice" kept by each mercenary guild.~~

## ~~Relation to the Immortals~~

> *~~"We know the legends better than most, which is why we don't think of them in our day to day lives"~~* ~~(Ashed factory worker)~~
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~~Ashed were selectively bred from the first age by the 14th Councilmember at the dawn for physical and mental hardiness, leading to their race's incredible endurance and toughness. Their civilization got its start from one of the Immortals, yet most of them believe it is little more than a myth. Yet the 14th council seat in their cities is always reserved for it should it arrive during times of political decision making.~~

~~It is often said that due to their relations with the 14th councilmember, their people occasionally suffer from the madness of paranoia and insomnia.~~