Thnekva

## Thneki

### Basic Biology:

The Thneki are a race of humans who feature more animalistic features, specifically antlers, fangs and retractable claws. They are also known to possess a natural talent for animal transformations, especially their spiritual leaders the Thraughi, who are well known werewolves. Physically, they are particularly pale, with blonde to reddish hair and bright yellow eyes which give them impressive night vision. They average over 6 feet tall, with females on average appearing slightly taller though with less natural muscle definition than their male counterparts, akin to regular humans.

### Government:

The Thneki are a matriarchal and theocratic society, with the all female Thraughi being both the political and spiritual leaders of each village. Each village is predominantly independent from each other, with its own unique laws and rulings. The Thneki government is founded on village Thraughi, who gather at events called Thosi to decided local rulings. These rulings are then brought to the the capital by Dhaum, a boy from each village who serves the Thraughi of his village for his entire life. He brings a bone with the new local laws carved into it to Theithos, where the bones are hung up in a temple for reference by all the people of Thnekva. If a major decision to effect the entire nation needs to be made, the Dhaum from Theithos will send word to all Elder Thraughi, who will gather in Theithos to choose the fate of the new law. Then the law will be brought back to the villages by the Elder. This occurs with the selecting of a new Dhamkha, who serves as the elder of Theithos and is believed to be the reincarnation of Dhaghmokh’s spirit. When one dies, the first child born after his death is believed to be the new Dhamkha, and is brought to Theithos to be raised as such. The current Dhamkha is Dhamkha Throsis. If village laws are broken, then the enforcement falls upon the Thraughi, who utilize the Sivath, made up entirely of men. They are the enforcement tools of the Thraughi. Punishment for law breaking usually involves labor, as execution and imprisonment are both taboo for the Thneki to enforce upon other Thneki. Jokhphi (foreigners) who are found breaking the law are either executed and their remains thrown into the jungle to return to earth and hopefully purify the Jokh from them, or forced back to their home nation to avoid political conflict. Laws are carved into bones and are hung upon the walls of the village temple for all to view. Their are only 3 distinct classes in Thneki society, The Thraughi who hold virtually all power, the Thaca (who make up virtually everyone else), and the Syjokh, or the foreign trader class.

### Religion:

The Thneki religion is a animistic faith characterized by the Thraughi religious class, which act druids to the animistic Thneki people. Thraughi are strictly females, who’s eyes are ritually removed as children to train them to peer into the spirit world. They are the final say in all Thneki laws and rulings, and the oldest of the Thraughi is considered the village Elder and wisest of the village. The Thneki religion's creation myth revolves around a single elder spirit known as Dhaghmokh, who was eternally alone in the void known as Jokh, until he sacrificed himself to himself, shattering his soul in millions of pieces, creating the world and the Thneki with it. They believe that the Jokh was shattered as a result of Dhaghmok’s sacrifice and thus created the other sentient races of the world, simply to spite Dhaghmokh’s discovery of purpose. The Thneki believe that when they die their soul is recycled into the world and they are reborn, to live life as a Thneki, or another creation of Dhaghmokh once again. This reincarnation is not instant though, and it can take an unknown amount of time for one's soul to be returned to the world. In this time, they may be called upon by Thraughi to guide in decisions and to guide their descendants. The main principles of Thenki animism is the focus on always respecting one's ancestors, which make up a significant portion of their worship, to worship the world around them and to do as little harm as possible to it, and to never disown the Thneki way.

### Morals and Ethics:

The Thenki view nature as the most pure form of Dhaghmokh, and such to do as little harm to it as possible. They are xenophobic and prefer to avoid conflict with other peoples who they view as corruptions of Dhaghmokh’s sacrifice. The nation values purity, traditionalism and honor. Slavery is absolutely abhorred by the Thneki, and the concept of dishonoring another Thneki alone is an incredible social taboo. They view each other as pieces of one being, and thus have an almost hive mind attitude towards their treatment of other Thneki. They dress in leather and bones, leather made from the hide of native Shjoghi, a large 6 legged hyena like mammal. Their bone is made predominantly from Shjoghi and Thneki bones, with the bones of their ancestors being fashioned into festive armor worn during Chovwac, the winter solstice and day they believe Dhaghmokh sacrificed himself.

### Holidays:

Chovwac is the holiest day of the year, where the Thneki of each village gather in the center of the village and will ritually remove the eyes of any newborns chosen by the elder Thraughi for Thraughi training, in which the elder will cut the eyes from the newborn with a bone dagger believed to be made from a fragment of Dhaghmokh’s body and then eat the eyes, symbolizing Dhaghmokh’s sacrifice to himself. Then the village will celebrate until the highest point of the night. The celebration includes each Thraughi from the village cutting their left wrist with the ritual dagger of Dhaghmokh’s body, pouring the blood into a large chalice fashioned from a Sjoghi bone and passing it around through the village for the villagers to drink. They believe this helps them connect with the spirit world as the Thraughi are believed to be able to traverse the spirit world in their dreams.