Taadži

The Taadži are a species of humanoid native to the far northwestern islands of Onavakaan.

## Physical description

Taadži are 230-250 cm tall on average (7'6"-8'2") and are essentially hairless, and have proportionately thicker skin that shades from gray to a blue- or green-tinged white. While their skin provides a measure of protection against parasites and the damp of their homeland, it also scars easily and can take a long time to heal from infection. They also have limited capacity to sweat, making it difficult to remain cool in dry environments. Their irises are large and very dark, which may give outsiders the impression that their eyes are entirely black.

Taadži blood contains high concentrations of biliverdin, which acts as a chemical component of their circulating immune system. This makes their flesh unpalatable or even toxic to many predators, and gives their blood a lime green color. This is especially visible in their mouths, which are strongly tinted blue-green. (This is akin to the real life genus *Prasinohaema*, a green-blooded skink that still uses hemoglobin as its oxygen carrier.)

Taadži are often symbiotic hosts to a protoplasmic organism known as the Black Flesh, providing them with some resistance to food-borne pathogens and the ability to digest otherwise unpalatable foods, at the expense of slightly higher energy requirements and slightly lower birth rates.

## History

Arising from a mingling of multiple precursor cultures of uncertain origin, the Taadži culture developed in the northwest of Onavakaan. With a sub-polar climate that could not support a sedentary lifestyle, the Taadži were nomadic huter-gatherers, spending much of the year in small family groups, and congregating at certain times of year to pool resources and to harvest from large schools of migratory fish and herds of native animals. They were adept at **navigating** the coastal waters and island-hopping to reach fishing grounds. **Pottery** was also fired during sedentary months, from simple vessels to high-quality pieces finished with volcanic ash glaze. Excess food gathered in these periods would be stored in buried pottery vessels to ferment while the camps were seasonally abandoned.

Disease was a major driver of mortality during this period. Black Flesh endemic to local soil contributed to this, with pit houses sometimes raising spore concentrations to dangerous levels. Immunocompromised individuals who survived infection were unable to clear the Black Flesh from their bodies, eventually leading to parent-to-child transmission of Black Flesh colonies. This created a symbiotic relationship that benefited the infected by allowing the consumption of otherwise unpalatable foods, and the digestion of certain toxins. The infections were eventually identified, leading to the deliberate culturing of external colonies of symbiotic Black Flesh strains. These **domesticated** variants were used for waste disposal, emergency food supplies, and to protect valuable, non-digestible objects.

Concurrently, the development of forest garden **agriculture** to better feed local populations allowed whole villages to move together in larger bands, settling beside gardens in the growing season. This development allowed for the culturing of more pools of domesticated Black Flesh, and more manipulation of its behavior. The Black Flesh's self-regulation of mineral levels by regurgitation of metals and indigestible crystals from its substrate was eventually selected for deliberately, developing a form of passive, symbiote-facilitated **mining** that permitted the Taadži to observe cultural taboos against taking treasures from beneath the soil, while retaining access to metals.

As the Taadži shape their landscape to permit larger communities to move as one, their priests communicate more freely with each other, observing each other's rituals and determining how to better approach one of their most important roles: influencing the elements themselves, to break droughts, still the earth when it rumbles, and calm ocean storms and boat-smashing waves. Does this work? Maybe not. But maybe they're on to something.

Other important duties of the priests, of all Taadži, are to seek out knowledge for their celestial mothers, and to avoid offending the other gods. Every living thing has a deific parent, and killing them is only acceptable if one can placate the spirits of the dead. Lacking any way to directly communicate with animals and plants, the Taadži pray to these other gods for understanding. To aid in this, tools are marked with pictographs loosely representing the prayers.

These slowly become more literal over time, and more formalized. These join with systems of representing names, marking trails, decorating pottery, and the conventions of tattooing. Altogether, these symbols are becoming a writing system, written on wax tablets, formed in clay on personal possessions, and shaped in stucco within shrines. The Taadži see it as a vital skill to teach their children these symbols. After all, these are how you protect yourself from the gods of others.

Larger religious ceremonies became more common at this time, with additional festival days both during sedentary months and during periods of dispersal. Priests began to codify **folk magic** into a system of rituals intended to modify the elements that underpin the world.

The Taadži animistic belief system meant that every organism represented an intelligent but uncommunicative child of a god. Some traditions expanded this to include every object as well, making no distinction between life and non-life. With their greater modification of their local environment, there was a general sense of unease among the Taadži. Debate over Taadži effects on their surroundings became common, particularly regarding the hunting or harvesting of resources that result in death or consumption of a fruit, seed, or egg.

Priests began to prescribe prayers for Taadži engaged in these activities, explaining their actions to the parent-gods that might be entreated to. These were to be spoken with every act of foraging. To simplify the process, some Taadži began to develop a system of pictograms which were drawn on the body or inscribed on tools, augmenting or taking the place of prayers. This system was collected by priests, and combined with the visual language of names, marking trails, pottery decoration, and tattooing. These designs were slowly refined and given a more one-to-one association with the Taadži language, eventually resulting in a **writing** system.

This writing system allowed the collection of traditional stories, including the works of folk heroes, and the techniques associated with the goddess of Death, in her roles as cook and giver of **medicine.** This allowed more Taadži to understand the basics of healing crafts, allowed the accumulation of more specialized techniques among healers.

As Taadži families grew, traditional turf-roofed pit houses became structurally unsound, with frequent roof collapses in wet weather. This led to the development of a microbial "leather" harvested and **tanned** from the protective layers grown by Black Flesh colonies during periods of extreme cold or drought. These "hides" could be grown to arbitrary size, resources permitting.

At some time during this period, a pair of travelers, Sunset Red Claw and Black Moon Sings, discovered a large, domed stone structure on the shores of the Great Lake. It was ancient and non-Taadži in origin, with particularly fine masonry that had survived the harsh climate.

This structure was studied and its implications debated by Taadži priest and elder councils. Łèèsũ Raddur practitioners worried that it could have been built by hostile gods, while Karejoğğu priests identified its round roof as a sign of celestial worship, possibly constructed by Taadži ancestors. An accord was made, and the structure was jointly occupied by Łèèsũ Raddur and Karejoğğu priests, to provide both ritual purification and to glorify the heavenly gods.

Interested Taadži studied the construction of the building itself, experimenting with **masonry** techniques to cut, shape, and assemble stones into stronger structures.

## Culture

### Family Structure

Taadži culture is divided between two matrilineal kin groups or moieties, who trace their ancestry back to the Sun and Moon. When male Taadži come of age, they are expected to leave their moiety and join the other, to prevent inter-moiety pregnancies. Taadži who show no sexual interest in others that could lead to pregnancy are permitted to join with a family of whichever moiety they chose. Taadži do not default to monogamous relationships, and have no cultural equivalent to marriage. Mothers are seen as the sole parent of a child, with males simply facilitating the process of calling ancestor spirits to reincarnate. Male friends and lovers may care for children as part of a family unit, but are considered equivalent to aunts or other female Taadži taking on caretaker roles for another's children. Family units are loosely formed around matrilineal lines, usually containing at least one elder who is charged with rationing food during times of scarcity.

### Elders

Elders may participate in councils during seasons when family groups congregate into larger settlements. These councils are the basis of Taadži governance, debating laws and settling disputes. Full participation is granted to those who have reached advanced age, and with the permit of a council of healers, who monitor the fitness of the elders. Those who become physically or mentally unfit to fully participate are often still retained in advisory positions.

### Gender

The Taadži system of five genders is loosely based on sex, but is more strongly tied to social and religious roles. Taadži believe that their immortal, reincarnating spirits are gendered, but reincarnation separates a spirit from its memories, placing them within a body that provides no clues as to their original identity. Thus, each individual must attempt to determine their gender using their affinity for a given social role. Others are not permitted to influence a child in determining their gender. Public declaration of gender occurs at a maturation festival, which may be accompanied by the Taadži adopting a new name.

A community is considered "complete" if it has representatives from each of the five genders among its elder council, priests, and general population. Families are likewise encouraged to include at least one of each gender, occasionally resulting in competition between families to woo someone to join their house.

Gender can be changed after maturity, with the previous identity being seen as a "misremembering" of personal history. This can lead to Taadži who bear marks of a gender they do not identify with, leading to a general cultural aversion toward gendered speech directed at those one has not been formally introduced to,

Each gender is expected to engage in prayer during different phases of the moon. In some regions, sex is also split into five categories, from most to least feminine. In these cultures, sex is used to determine a secondary system of monthly prayer and responsibilities during eclipses.

### Tattoos and Honors

Many Taadži societies practice tattooing as a means to mark themselves with personal accomplishments or social role. Others favor face paint, scarification, and/or embroidery or adornment. Some marks may be personally chosen, others can only be approved by elders or priests. The most respected marks available to the general population are those that are tied to a presentation of craft, skill, or strength presented at a festival, where a large number of witnesses can attest to the feat. Professions and vital community roles also receive special marks, such as priests, healers, and elders.

Designs are often symmetrical, and can be split to work around any marks already present. Particularly accomplished individuals are noted for their multi-layered, nested designs.

### Sports

Most Taadži sports are non-competitive, as they stem from demonstrations of personal ability rather than victory over another. The most common team sport is *rusydžpnsy*, a game of speed, coordination, and ingenuity. Teams are given an egg or delicate piece of pottery, which must be transported to a goal. The playing field may be on rough terrain, or with barriers that have to be circumnavigated or overcome. Strict rulesets require the use of only one's hands or a basket to transport, throw, or catch the egg, but many regions permit any means to be used to protect the egg in transit. Breaking the egg ends a run prematurely. Throwing the egg at some point in the competition is required, and teams that overemphasize running to safely transport the egg may encounter interference from the audience.

Competitive sports are most typified by *xummĩrux* (lit. "friend-hunting"), a bolas sport with the aim of snaring competitors, an animal target, or a defended inanimate target. Local rules and numbers of players may vary, from one-on-one competitions to large teams. When snaring other players, aiming for the head and neck is generally forbidden.

## Language

(oh god I wrote an entire 12 page article on this before, figuring out how to document the current state of Tade Taadži here is gonna take a while)

## Religion

### Karejoğğu

The *Karejoğğu* faith ("to know the elements") is a polytheistic, ethnic tradition with a core imperative towards learning and observation of the natural world. Its practitioners believe that the world is split into (at least) five fundamental elements: Light, dark, stillness, motion, and thought. Spirits and gods live in an intangible realm of thought that cannot touch the physical world. All living creatures are embodied spirits, which have temporarily given up their memories in the process of incarnation. They come to the physical world to gather new experiences and then return to the heavens to regain their memories, contemplate what they've learned, and interact with their godly parents.

Taadži followers of the faith believe their spirits are children of the Sun or Moon, and their mission is to aid their mothers in their quest to master the elements, and learn the mystery of the gods' creation, which is unknown to all.

Taadži have a filial duty to the Sun and Moon, and followers are expected to speak to their mother goddess at a certain time of day and/or month, determined by their matrilineal descent and declarations made during their coming of age ritual. While non-Taadži are not necessarily dissuaded from practicing the faith, they are seen as the children of other gods, which may seek goals that are not conducive to the Taadži's own. Non-Taadži practitioners may be encouraged to employ modified prayers to reflect this.

The faith has no central organization, with rituals performed either in private personal worship or organized by village elders or shamans who pass down earthly knowledge of the gods, spirits, and elements. Elements can be invoked by certain prayer rituals. For example, a night time dance may be done to call for storms, or meditation beside a fire may be used to pray for warm weather.

As Karejoğğu practitioners believe each person is an immortal spirit that forgets their true self with each incarnation, children are given temporary names and referred to impersonally until they mature. Coming of age rituals are the culmination of a personal search for clues about their spirit's identity, culminating with the practitioner publicly declaring aspects of their spirit: most prominently, their name and their gender. While this is often seen as final, allowances are sometimes made for a practitioner "misremembering" themself.

Karejoğğu practitioners believe in a Death god that aids spirits in returning to the heavens, and who breaks down the bodies they leave behind into their component elements. Bodies are not considered sacred in the faith, and may be left for scavengers, composted, or autopsied to learn more about the body's function. After all, the body is a conveyance for the spirit: Learning how to fix it helps each practitioner make the most out of their incarnation, and teaches everyone about the mysteries of creation.

This interest in anatomy and medicine means that Karejoğğu practitioners can make for skilled healers, and their curiosity means they are willing to work with outsiders.

### Łèèsũ Raddur

A religion occupying a syncretic space within some communities, Łèèsũ Raddur ("(The Ones) Hidden in Ash") is a faith that believes in actively hostile creator gods, believed to live beyond the northern sea. Followers engage in rituals to obscure their presence from these gods, and apotropaic magic to ward away their agents.

The gods of Łèèsũ Raddur are described as possibly having benevolent intentions in their act of creation, but their demands upon the Taadži were impossible to follow. The gods grew increasingly angry with their creations, threatening to create new, monstrous children to destroy them. Then the gods went silent. A party of explorers eventually disobeyed their elders and sailed north to investigate. They were never seen again.

Multiple versions of this story exist, including several where a final message was returned to their homeland. The message stated that they found a house of the gods, full of corpses that had violently birthed monsters. Most of the explorers were killed by these creatures and their ship destroyed, but some pressed ahead to find a single remaining god, deep in sleep. In some versions of the story they kill the god, in others they wake it to ask it why they had been treated so cruelly. The god did not answer, and was eventually killed by the monsters.

Further variations of the story state that the survivors found a ship of the gods, with maps indicating the locations of other settlements. The survivors intended to press on with this new information.

Faithful communities are split in their interpretation of this story. Depending on the version emphasized by local tradition, it may be viewed as a cautionary tale that danger still lurks in the north, a hopeful tale that the creator-gods are dead and ritual wards can be relaxed, or an apocalyptic tale, in which the continued quest of the explorers may have found more hostile gods that will one day reach Onavakaan.

Many followers of Łèèsũ Raddur also observe traditions of Karejoğğu, taking on the Sun and Moon as protector gods who can stand against the malign northern gods. These communities hold large festivals in the summer, giving thanks to the celestial gods for their presence.

### Animistic Beliefs

Taadži generally acknowledge that all living creatures have intelligent spirits created by celestial gods. Most of these spirits are incapable of communicating with Taadži, or display their intelligence in inscrutable ways. Some Taadži extend this belief to all objects, believing that deities living in other elemental planes created non-living things.

This belief leads to a system of ethics that frowns on excess harvesting of natural resources beyond those necessary for survival. For example, it is considered appropriate to chop down trees to build a house if one explains the need to the trees themselves, but cutting down a grove to let in more sunlight around the house would be seen as inviting the wrath of the felled trees. When possible and practical, harvesting pieces of an organism without killing it is preferred, or harvesting the young, as they may find it more easy to quickly reincarnate. However, these practices do not stand in the way of doing what the Taadži feel is necessary for their survival: as their prayers to the hunted say, all must eat.

Prayers for hunting, harvesting, or defending against attack may be spoken and sung by those engaged in the activity, or marked on the appropriate tools. This practice contributed to the development of writing among the Taadži.

### Other Deities

Many other deities are worshiped throughout Taadži society. Some are local, and others are broadly acknowledged across Taadži territory.

#### Death

The goddess of Death, also responsible for teaching spellcasting, medicine, and cooking to the world. Her role is to free the spirits of the dead from their bodies, and to decompose their remains. She is believed to live in deep caves, where she keeps her treasures.

#### Celestial Gods

A large pantheon of celestial gods are acknowledged as the ancestors of other species, arranged into "families" (i.e. constellations or larger regions). Each are believed to be extremely learned in the shaping of particular elements, and are thus called upon at ceremonies where their expertise is desired.

## Trivia

The Taadži were created out of extreme frustration with a particular piece of media that spiraled into a years-long original worldbuilding project. For more information and a taste of my unending rage, visit the `#spider-shed` on the Discord group.