Iskuzai

The **Iskuzai** were a nomadic people who originally inhabited the northern region of Hyperborea before migrating south and settling in the continent of Askedoria. There, they gradually conquered the Etoi kingdoms in a bloody conflict and began to intermingle with the native population. The Iskuzai are divided into three main tribes - the Arpoxais, Colaxais and Lipoxais - which in turn consist of many lineages or phratries. The warlike Iskuzai are skilled horsemen and formidable warriors, also known for their poetry and devotion to the Double-Crested Panther. They consider the goddess Phoeraia and the legendary king Acmonides as their divine ancestors.

## Name

The name *Iskuzai* comes from the word *Iskus* ("to invade"). According to legend, the goddess Phoeraia screamed "invade me" when she conceived her four children - the mythical ancestors of the Iskuzai people - with King Acmonides. The term *Iskuzai* can also be translated as "the invaders".

## History

### Mythical Origin

   The Iskuzai emerged as a confederation of three nomadic tribes who consider themselves to be descended from three children of Phoeraia, the goddess of the hunt, and the human king Acmonides, respectively. According to legend, the two had four children, two daughters named Lipossas and Arpossas, and two sons named Colassos and Adrinissos. While Adrinissos was beheaded by his father and become the god Erigonio, the other three lived and became the progenitors of the Arpoxais, Lipoxais and Colaxais tribes.

These tribes settled in the harsh steppe landes of Hyperborea north of the Acmonides Mountains were they followed a nomadic and pastoral lifestyle. They were among the first people to domesticate horses and build chariots which over time gave them a military advantage and allowed them to successfully raid their neighbours. During that time the Iskuzai also started worshipping the cosmic beast of the Double-Crested Panther.

The Iskuzai horde was a loose confederation of tribes which frequently fought among themselves. It was not until the reign of King Auleo the Cartographer that the tribes were united under one banner and began migrating out of Hyperborean steppes into their rich and fertile lands of Askedoria.

> *"As the Etoi poets know all too well, we came to Askedoria from the Northern Steppes. I know little of the times before the Invasion; you should go as far as the Phoinikobaptos Valley and ask the sages and prophetesses of that region to find out more. Certainly then, as now, our life was marked by war, sacred games and sacrifices offered to the Double-Crested Panther. The Hyperborean peoples, whose kingdoms we frequently plundered, called us **Barser**, Lion-faced Men. In those days, we did not know the names of the Gods or how to worship them, and we despised the high-walled cities, where you live like in prison. Our last King, Auleo the Cartographer, changed the ancient customs. He gathered the tribes under one banner, and all the great and noble Phratries, all the warriors, the leopard-women and every other member of our numerous people marched to battle the wise Etoi."*
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### Invasion of Askedoria and Conflict with the Etoi

> *"Auleo kindled in us the hunger for the spoils of war, the thirst for glory and conquest; we all knew that the Etoi Eparchies were full of riches more than any other kingdom. We had heard the legends about the splendor of their palaces, about the gold and shining gems that covered, like snake scales, the bodies of their olive-skinned women. However, we did not know how skilled they were in the art of conflict, and, at first, we mistook their peace proposals for a sign of weakness; how much we were wrong in our judgement! The twelve most glorious champions of my people perished during the Invasion, including the firstborn of our King, the Blood-soaked Letheia.*
> *Finally, the Brothers crossed the mountains, razed the Sacred Cities of the Red Valley to the ground and spread across the continent like a pack of wolves in a lamb shed. For some years, my people swallowed cities and reduced entire nations to slavery with the same ease of a cat slaughtering chicks, but our advance stopped under the walls of Beitris. The Western Etoi Kingdoms were ours, but the Eparchies in the East armed a mercenary host like never before was seen and never will be seen again."*
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### Formation of the Amphictony of Aulea

>    *"(...) Many different stories are told of those distant days; what matters is that the Etoi sent ambassadors again, while the conflict drained both peoples.* *This time they offered their Matriarchs in marriage and set up a great banquet to present their powerful queens to the lords of the Iskuzai Phratries. It is sung that King Auleo was seized with great passion when he saw Black-Braided Autonoe, Matriarch of the Cerulean Swallow, and since the thought of her never left his mind, he even forgot the desire to avenge his daughter and the other warriors who had fallen. Peace was sanctioned, and it was thus that our blood mingled with the ancient enemies. Ten years later, the conflicts between the Tribes of my people also ceased, which had never stopped, even during the Invasion: we have always contended between ourselves for slaves, women, loot and weapons. The Phratries gathered in the Royal Palace, and there, under the benevolent gaze of Our Divine Mother, the pact was sanctioned, and the bond called Amphictyony was created."*
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## Religion

After the Iskuzai invasion, the hybridisation of cultures became so pronounced that the myths, dialects and beliefs of different peoples were integrated into a common background. Among those vast religious traditions, the Iskuzai favoured those deities who were closest to their values or those most involved with their destiny. For this reason, their dominance in the continental Askedoria strengthened the faith in four of the Twelve Immortals, a group that took the name of Tetrad of Askedoria. With that being said, the other Gods do not lack celebrations, shrines, honours and sacrifices. However, the Iskuzai and the peoples most influenced by them have a particular devotion to the Tetrad and implore its help with a fiery passion.

## Trivia

The name *Iskuzai* was likely inspired by *Ishkuzai*, an alternative name for the Scythians who were a nomadic people inhabiting the Pontic Steppes during 7th to 3rd century BCE.