Tzazars

Tzazars are sentient creatures made entirely of fire and with psychic control over fire. One may confuse them for fire elementals, but in truth they are not. They are true soul-bearing creatures and their bodies are even mortal. Compared to a fire elemental's body, a tzazar's body is smoother and more solid, but lacking the far greater flexibility and regeneration that fire elementals have. Perhaps the most notable difference is that somewhere within the body of a tzazar is a crystal of deep red which, if destroyed, results in the death of the tzazar. The majority of the Tzazars are nomads but in recent years a nation has formed within region Kappa.

## Physiology

### Firestorm Elementals

Avernus is a planet that is thoroughly touched by the Warp. Every single plant and animal species native to it bear at least one psychic power, but that is not the extent of the Warp's influence on the planet. The air, the ground, and the water have also been in significant contact with Warp energies over the many millennia of Avernus' existence. Normally they act rather mundanely due to their non-living nature, but when a major geographical event takes place such as a storm or an earthquake, said events may on occasion take on psychic properties. Major rainfall could rain blood instead of water, tornadoes can become timenadoes, and earthquakes can birth ground maws.

One of the more interesting examples of this happening is when a wildfire spontaneously gains sentience, no longer being some geographical weather phenomenon, but a true living being - a firestorm elemental. Firestorm elementals seek what fire naturally seeks to do: burn and grow. There is no greater joy for them than to increase themselves, to make their flames burn hotter and to spread themselves out further. Inevitably, however, they will die. They will be slain or consumed by the wildlife, run out of fuel to sustain themselves, or simply collapse under their own power. There is, however, a way to escape this otherwise inevitable fate and that is to become what is known as a tzazar.

### Becoming Tzazar

To become a tzazar, a firestorm elemental must be contacted by a tzazar and told how to become one. The firestorm elemental must gather their essence and forcefully compress it, transforming it into the less powerful but more stable form of a soul. They lose a great deal of power during this process, ending with merely a small fraction of what they had before. Enough refuse or fail in the transformation (even with a tzazar to aid them through the process) that only one out of every hundred firestorm elementals approached by a tzazar becomes a tzazar. (It's because of this that tzazars are so rare, only numbering in the many dozens to many hundreds at once.)

### Tzazar

The bodies of tzazars are made up of two primary components: the crystal core and the main body. The crystal within a tzazar, which may slowly be moved throughout the body, is the most important part. The crystal is the tzazar's brain and is also a reservoir for fire, which it can store in immense quantities. The main body of a tzazar is sustained by a steady flow of flames from the crystal into the body. If the crystal runs out of fire, the body will disappear and the crystal's normal deep red colour will turn into a charred brown. This is the dormant state of a tzazar. Tzazar crystals can absorb fire within a short range and can do so even while tzazars are in their dormant state, allowing them to regain enough fire to regrow their body. Tzazar crystals can hold warpfire, but it begins corroding the crystals if left inside for too long. Tzazar crystals are incredibly durable and their rigid structure gives resistance to telepathy.

The other primary component of a tzazar body is the main body, which is usually just called a "body". It's made of 100% solid orange-coloured flame and is naturally hot enough to burn whatever it touches (this can be reduced to a pleasant warming with sufficient control). The bodies of tzazars vary between half to double the size of adult humans, with larger bodies consuming more fire from crystals than smaller ones (but crystals can store enough fire that this very rarely matters). The shape and size of a tzazar's body can be modified, but only over a course of many months (less with focused effort). Most tzazars go for a humanoid body due to its utility and the influence of other humanoid/bipedal Avernite sentients.

## Powers

A firestorm elemental loses most of its power when it becomes a tzazar, and while tzazars can train to regain some of their power, it is rarely enough to fully bridge the gap. It is useful, then, that a tzazar's mind, body, and soul can remember that old power so well. By focusing on that memory and channelling their psychic power, they can initiate a combat transformation. Their skin, once smooth and calm, erupts in tongues of flame, their eyes go from a warm orange to a blazing white, and their power is multiplied tenfold. On top of the power boost, they retain the control over flames they gained after becoming tzazar, making them truly terrifying opponents in this ascended state. This form does have a serious drawback, however: it puts a significant strain on the body and can only be maintained for minutes - tens of minutes at most, with training - before wearing off, leaving the tzazar fatigued once exiting out of it. A tzazar would need a full day of uninterrupted rest to reenter the state after spending the maximum amount of time in the form.

One important thing to note is that tzazars are not immune to heat. Their bodies can take heat well, naturally, but there's an upper limit to what they can handle. Flame weapons will only give them ammunition to work with but plasma and melta can harm them, even to the point of death. Rad weapons are useless against their bodies but can damage their crystals.

A tzazar's power will wax during the day and wane during the night, but the effect is small.
Warpfire is the only pyrogenesis tzazars are capable of. Warpfire cannot be consumed for sustenance.
Tzazars can sense fire and heat.

Tzazars are, as one would expect, masters of pyromancy. Their nature gives them a lot of natural talent when it comes to fire and the fact that they have souls give them additional stability, but that's not all. Firestorm elementals need to have an extraordinary amount of will and control to become tzazars and such traits are kept after the transition. That base then gets built upon through training and tutelage. These factors make tzazars very talented at controlling fire and their pyrokinesis is second to none. Over their long history, the tzazars have used their talents to advance the art of pyromancy greatly, if only within the areas where fire is actually used. Listed are some of their notable pyromantic abilities:

### Specific Powers

**Formshift** - A more advanced version of Fiery Form, enabled in part by how tzazars are naturally much better pyromancers than Sanctioned Psykers and in part because they are already made of fire. This lets a tzazar turn into all manner of firey shapes and temporarily alter their bodies in major ways. They can become fireballs, grow extra limbs, and more, including becoming giants in their ascended state.

**Flight** - Any pyromancer can move fire through the air. Tzazars are made of fire and can thus move themselves through the air rather easily.

**Mesmerising Flames** - Flames which move in strange and very peculiar ways, becoming very distracting to look at. When these flames are deployed externally, it makes it more difficult for enemies to hit with ranged attacks. When cloaked in such flames, the user's enemies will hesitate to attack in melee.

**Blazing Weapons** - Weapons made of solid fire, they continue to exist so long as their users maintain their form with their powers. There exists a more advanced, far more powerful variant that burns with white flame but its power draw is enough that most can only use them in the ascended state.
- **Soulscar Weapons** - An even more powerful variant of Blazing Weapons, Soulscar Weapons attacks the very souls of enemies struck with these weapons in addition to their bodies, damaging them at an ethereal level with every hit. There have been very few tzazars to have lived who had the necessary power and skill to create these weapons.

**Firelink Gate** - A fire that has been altered to be used for teleportation. This technique requires a very large amount of skill to create and requires constant tending to. Pieces of this flame are broken off and carried by tzazars. Tzazars can send themselves through the flame pieces and arrive back at the firelink gate near instantly. A firelink gate can handle about 4-6 teleportations before winking out.

**Breachburst** - By focusing on small fractures and rents in enemy armour, one can generate tiny explosions within them, further ruining the armour. It's not as significant an effect as more powerful anti-armour techniques but it's very energy-efficient. In practice, this technique is more effective against static fortifications like walls and gates because the targets don't move.

**Classical pyromancy** - Divination through the use of fire. Increased information and detail can be gleamed by burning relevant material in the fire. Useful for tracking in addition to scrying and precognition. There are many other fire-based information-gathering techniques, of which the following are a few examples:
- **Sentry Fire** - Flames which do not flicker according to wind, temperature, or rain, instead only moving in reaction to a predetermined trigger, whether it be movement, the usage of psychic powers, or other things.
- **Heat Pulse** - A burst of fire that sends a pulse of heat that acts like sonar. The more powerful the burst, the greater the range. Directional and omnidirectional pulses are both possible, with the latter having shorter range.
- Fire Sense - Allows one to locate fires and to gather great amounts of information about fires when close enough.

Pyrochromatic Alteration **- A simple cosmetic change that makes fire burn a different colour for as the effect is active. Tzazars can use this on themselves.**
- Pyrotransparency - Rather than *changing* the colour of fire, one can *remove* its colour, creating invisible flames. Pyrotransparency requires a lot more power and control than the negligible amounts required for Pyrochromatic Alteration.

**Mirage** - Firey figures which act as illusory decoys, confusing the enemy and preventing them from identifying their target. Larger mirages which require a lot more concentration are used in civilian capacity as an equivalent to pict casts.

**Pyromancy+** - Anything Imperial pyromancers can do with actual fire, tzazars can do better, faster, more reliably, and with greater energy efficiency.

### Flamecrafting

Flamecraft is, in its simplest form, the crystallization of fire into various solids. A skilled Flamecrafter is able to produce a wide range of materials from simple flame, ranging from ingots of heat-emitting metal, to crystals which glow like torches, to bricks, nails, planks, and bolts of cloth. While the specific properties of each material will vary, it can generally be expected that the resulting product will be highly flame- and heat-resistant (due to being, itself, solidified fire), will tend to act as high-quality pyromantic foci, and will typically emit a good deal of heat, though the exact amount can vary.

In order to perform his work, a Flamecrafter must fulfill several requirements, each of which is necessary to achieve a successful result.

First, the Flamecrafter must be capable of the psychic output and fine control required to sustain and maintain command over his flames. If he is lacking in either, his finished work will either be fragile or exhibit an unacceptable number of flaws.

Second, the artisan must possess the necessary skill and specialty in his craft of choice. While the most talented of tzazar craftsmen might be able to work their flames into a wide range of materials and products, it is rare for an artisan to master more than one or two different areas of expertise. Not only is the skill required to physically mold the flame into the craftsman’s desired shape, the techniques involved are also vital to ensure consistent results. The ritual mentality involved in the associated techniques are as important as the physical molding process; certain techniques are known to result in particular changes in the product, and ordering the steps involved is vital to ensure the quality of the finished work. Moreover, the ritualization of the processes involved ensures that master artisans can reliably pass down their skills to students and thereby maintain continuity of knowledge.

Third, and unique to the tzazars’ Flamecraft, an artisan must possess a particular Purpose for his work in mind, as well as the will to infuse it into the product. This Purpose is a semi-passive psychic imprint of the Tzazar’s will, channeled through pyromantic rituals and interweaved into the solidifying flame and warp energy, which imparts permanent attributes to item into which it is imbued, in effect generating a long-lasting psychic manifestation.

In a manner quite similar to the process by which a Firestorm Elemental turns itself into a tzazar, a tzazar must be able to exert a clear and focused will upon his work. By doing so, the Flamecraft is imbued with a certain Purpose that influences its final form, and may also result in the manifestation of unique properties associated with that Purpose. The item’s Purpose will naturally affect its final form as well; a sword designed To Cut would have an inherently different appearance compared to one given the purpose To Kill.

The more complicated the Purpose, the more arduous the crafting process. Mundane Purposes are relatively simple to imbue. For instance, an apprentice could easily imbue the purpose of ‘To Be Solid’ into a brick or set of nails that he is crafting.

As an item’s Purpose becomes more complex, the required work and focus increases. For instance, an artisan who wishes to create a shroud to protect the wearer against wind would simultaneously need to maintain the basic Purpose of the item (a shroud to be worn) and weave it into the item’s higher Purpose. Intermediate artisans are distinguished by the ability to weave at least one higher Purpose into an item while maintaining consistency of quality and craftsmanship.

The most accomplished Flamecrafters are able to go even further beyond, weaving multiple higher Purposes together into a single work, or simply taking a single Purpose and refining it to greater and more incredible heights. To use the shroud as an example, a master Flamecrafter might imbue it with such focus of Purpose (to protect the wearer from wind) that wearing the piece would allow the owner to walk undeterred through a tornado, or endure a catastrophic explosive shockwave (as such things are but strong winds) unharmed.

Such masters in the art are rare indeed. Not only must they possess skill, power and control in abundance, they must also be able to maintain strength and clarity of will for long periods of time. If the craftsman wavers and loses focus, stray thoughts will inevitably bleed through and dilute the item’s Purpose. The more powerful the intended item, the longer the craftsman needs to work and the more difficult the art becomes. The mental endurance required to create true masterpieces is far beyond ordinary Flamecrafters. While the Purpose of any Flamecraft is obvious to tzazars and human psykers who might come into contact with the resulting product, the Purpose imbued into true masterpieces are obvious even to the most untrained eye.

While ordinary flame will do for most Flamecraft, it seems that the ritual of acquiring flame produced by unusual sources, and perhaps the use of exotic flame itself, will tend to improve the quality of the finished work. Expert craftsmen will often spend a great deal of time searching for just the right kinds of material to burn in order to create their masterpieces.

## Culture

### Nomads

When tzazars are born, they spend decades training and learning at the feet of the priests in a variety of subjects as an acolyte. Meditation, history, combat training, religion, and pyromancy are the most important of these subjects.

Meditation is a technique that all acolytes have to master in order to complete their studies. Meditation is good for the soul and the mind, helping to clear one's thoughts, maintain a healthy mindset, and improve focus. This helps to smooth social interactions, improve performance in battle, and aid in the learning of the more control-oriented aspects of pyromancy. One rather useful application of meditation is that it makes it easier to enter into the ascended form. After completing their studies, some tzazars learn an advanced form of meditation which can be used in battle.

The tzazars have a history stretching back thousands of years, history which they remember better than most due to their centuries-long lifespans. Acolytes learn of their race's greatest heroes and the major events which have shaped their past, then when that is done choose among several more specific areas to learn from. Permanent settlements are not a feasible thing for the tzazars to have and so they have not developed a written language, meaning all their stories and history has to be translated orally. It thus falls to acolytes to be well-versed in multiple aspects of their history to create a level of redundancy to prevent knowledge from being lost to death.

Acolytes learn how to fight. This is because they live on Avernus and to do otherwise is dumb. It's not just pyromancy they learn, however. Unarmed combat, fighting with weapons, and even the usage of traps and terrain are taught. Avernus has a very varied amount of deadly wildlife. Overspecialising in one area will lead to certain inevitable doom once a creature with a hard counter appears, so it's vital to utilise the intelligence available to them as sentient creatures and learn multiple different methods of survival beyond what they are naturally capable of. That these non-fire based martial skills preserve a tzazar's reserves of fire is an additional bonus.

Tzazar religion is a mix of sun worship and ancestor veneration. Religious practices and ceremonies are based around the movement of the sun, with the most important ones being the solar eclipse and the summer solstice. The moon is given regard and acknowledgement, but rarely outright worship.

There are two components to their ancestor veneration. The first is their veneration of those who have died of old age (rare as they are). As a tzazar succumbs to senescence, their crystal will flake off until all that is left is a small white core. This core gives a minor boost to pyromancy and is seen as some small part of the long dead tzazar's will continuing on after death. For their accomplishment (dying of old age on Avernus) and their continued aid after death, the remnants of their crystals are given thanks by those who have them and are used as focuses for meditation.
The second component of their ancestor veneration is the worship of their greatest heroes. They are equivalent to saints and their worship is pretty straightforward.

Tzazars don't require dedicated food production systems. They can store a lot of the amount of fire they need to eat in their crystals, so there's no need for them to hunt every day to stay alive. Burning the daily Avernite predators and feeding on the occasional non-sentient wildfire is typically enough. As a result, tzazar society is one of skilled specialists, typically learning under a group apprenticeship model.

Priests - The priests of the tzazars are those who oversee religious ceremonies, and induct new tzazars into the ways of tzazar society. Part of their duty to create and maintain Firelink Gates - essential for getting tzazars out of trouble and preserving the race's numbers. Priests also conduct the very important task of approaching firestorm elementals and convincing them to transform into tzazars, then using their psychic powers to assist in the process if they accept. This necessitates the task of actually finding the firestorm elementals in the first place, so it's also the duty of priests to go out into the world in search of them.

Warrior - A dedicated warrior of the tzazars, trained extensively in combat and pyromancy by more veteran warriors. Some are noted for their exceptional destructive capabilities or their skill in close quarters combat. Warriors also accompany priests as their bodyguards when they go out search of firestorm elementals.

King - During a crisis, the highest-ranking members of the two groups will come together and decide on a king who will have absolute authority over every tzazar. This post is held until death, if the heads of the groups vote him out, or if he abdicates.

Heralds - A title that only exists while there exists a king, heralds are tzazars who have been chosen by the king to speak and act with his own authority as an act of delegation.

### The Nation of Manylights

The constant volcanic activity within the Fire Plains has had many side-effects both expected and unforeseen on its surrounding environs. A change in local weather patterns was, for instance, both predicted and observed. Likewise, an increased incidence of wildfire in the regions surrounding the Fire Plains was entirely within expectations. The settlement of a hitherto nomadic People of Avernus into the region was not, however.

The tzazars, a race of living flame coalesced into flesh and bone, have been previously documented by agents of the Biologis. However, until recently, their life cycle has demanded a nomadic existence spent searching out Firestorm Elementals to replace their own losses. Due to the seasonal nature of the necessary wildfires, this task required constant movement and migration by the tzazars. As a direct result of the existence of the Fire Plains, however, wildfires in the region have become common nearly year-round. Just as the wildlife surrounding the Fire Plains has adapted to the changes in their environment, so too have this enterprising group of tzazars seized upon the opportunity presented by those changes.

The Nation of Manylights is a community of tzazars established at the periphery of the Fire Plains, where the local vegetation is still lush enough to support regular wildfires. Their settlement is located in an approximately crescent-moon shaped region that hugs the Fire Plains from the west. Less a city and more a collection of hamlets and villages, the tzazars of Manylights have yet to develop many of the trappings normally considered as part of urban living. Each settlement is governed internally, but also sends representatives to a wandering legislative and judicial council to maintain peace between each community. Their architecture is relatively unrefined in comparison to other People of Avernus, which is due in large part to their lack of experience in creating permanent structures, though evidence suggests that more unified styles are beginning to emerge. Manylights’ agricultural development is quite primitive, limited only to cultivating the wilderness and ensuring that enough remains to sustain robust natural wildfires. Due to their unique physiology, this has not as of yet become an obstacle to their growth.

That is not to say that the tzazars of Manylights are uncultured. Many have taken to wearing attire and armor that suggests a strong fashion-culture among the tzazars and immediately sets them apart from their itinerant brethren. They have not abandoned their original culture entirely, however. Aspects of their nomadic lifestyle have carried into and have been adapted to their new urban experiment. Their well-developed pyromantic arts and focus on inner development and personal discipline have resulted in the creation of a form of psychic artisanry unique among the tzazars. Generally called Flamecraft, the tzazars of Manylights have learned to extend the principles of the pyromantic ritual associated with their transformation from their juvenile elemental form.

The Nation of Manylights is an interesting development in a people of Avernus that humanity has had only limited contact with so far. While limited trade agreements have been arranged between several private corporations and the tzazars, attempts at diplomatic state-to-state contact on the part of the local government of Cassarrondo has yet to result in meaningful long-term relations. Aside from the role that the tzazars play in containing the growth of the Fire Plains by uncontrolled wildfire, they also seem quite occupied with luring local Alpenflame Emperors away from nearby fault lines. As the self-destruction of an Alpenflame Emperor within such a fault has previously resulted in significant expansion of the magma biome, such police actions are to be encouraged and assisted where possible. Possible avenues for diplomatic relations may hinge on providing regular military assistance to help contain the existential threat so posed.

That such assistance might be welcomed is evidenced by the accords between several shayatin and Manylights. In exchange for hospitality and the creation and maintenance of masterwork weaponry, individual shayatin have offered the use of a small portion of their flame as well as assistance in deterring inclement Alpenflame Emperors and other similarly catastrophic wildlife. The process of forging a flame naturally attuned to rebellion, freedom and independence is reportedly the domain of only the greatest masters. It is believed to involve the willing donation of the raw material by the shayatin, and a modification of the traditional Flameworking method, allowing the flame to guide its own shaping rather than being subjected to the artisan’s will.

This is almost purely conjecture, however; the exact details are kept as closely guarded secrets by both the master artisans and their shaytan clients. Whatever the case might be, this link is proved definitively by the existence of a quartet of mighty Flamework weapons in the care of the tzazars. According to members of the settlement’s priest caste, the relics belonged to four of the so-called Incandescent Seven who alone stood between Manylights and the determined onslaught of an Alpenflame Emperor. Four of the seven perished in the act, and the remaining three allowed the tzazars to keep the weapons as a memorial to their fallen comrades.

It’s rumored that some tzazar artisans are looking into some means of communing with the Alpenflame Emperors as a means to safely acquire samples of the beast’s fiery emissions.

#### Flamecrafting

The development of Flameworking is an interesting topic in the subject of xenosociology and xenopsychology. The practice originated as a means of manifesting temporary flame constructs to act as tools or weaponry. As the tzazars travelled, however, they were frequently faced with other Avernite people whose services or material goods were deemed useful to the nomadic tribes. Permanent Flamecraft developed as a means to produce long-lasting trade goods, as a reliable source of heat and flame was considered by many as useful and necessary. Until the establishment of permanent settlements, the tzazars had little reason to refine their art as they have.

Perhaps owing to their origins as living flames, the tzazars are evidently wholly unable to sit still. When their lifestyle was still nomadic, simply surviving in Avernus’s wilderness demanded much of their attention. With the transition to permanent settlement, the tzazar mind has suddenly found itself unoccupied for long periods of the day. While they are often able to focus on simply meditating during these quiet periods, many tzazars have found that quiet contemplation cannot adequately occupy their attention. The art of Flameworking quickly emerged as an effective way to constructively focus the tzazar mind; where they might have instead turned to conflict, the tzazars have found a useful outlet for their restlessness. The craft thus advanced into an artform as a direct result of the work of restless craftsmen.

Flameworking is not without its own hazards, however. Aside from the mishaps usually associated with pyromancy gone wrong, some tzazar artisans have found that they can become too absorbed in their work, bordering on obsession. Several craftsmen have been taken by these strange moods, forgoing even basic sustenance to focus entirely on the creation of some imagined masterwork. While flashes of inspiration are recognized and respected within reason, the tzazars of Manylights believe that obsession is an indicator of mental fatigue, and a sure sign that the Purpose of one’s craft has overwhelmed the will of the craftsman. In the best and most common case, the craftsman is able to recognize that he is slipping down this road and can stop himself before it becomes all-consuming. In the worst case, a tzazar might work themselves to death, or become so caught up in their work that they are trivial prey for any one of Avernus’ many dangers.

Some enterprising Flameworkers have expressed interest in human plasma technology, seeming to regard it as a highly exotic form of flame, somewhere between lightning and mundane fire. While nothing has yet come of it, some members of the Telepathica are curious as to what might result. Most other tzazar Flameworkers believe it to be a fool’s errand, and point to the fate of a handful of eccentric craftsmen who dared to harness lightning itself into their work. All have either been killed in the attempt, or exiled into the wilderness for endangering their community.