The Uxbhalic People

## Culture

### Animal Handling

Some tribes of the Uzbhal tame Vultund, a type of pack hunter that looks as if you merged a Vulture and wolf into one. These critters are perfect hunting companions, more than willing to feast on the scraps of a kill that a hunting party don't consider worthy of consumption.

As the Uzbhalic people have spread throughout the Erkendhal, the more they realized just how large the plains truly are. With this realization, many searched for a means to make these journeys less miserable and time consuming. And with that search came the domestication of a massive beast called a Qorsar. A creature that shows the traits of boars and horses in a single beast. These are loyal steeds and hearty in character, willing to charge into a block of bristling spears if their rider was asking. And these creatures would be the kind to make it through the spear block, its just that their rider wouldnt be.

### Architecture

The Uzbhal building style is based around communal living. So they make massive structures to house whole communities, almost mimicking tunnel systems. This is potentially due to the early life style of the people, being located amongst mountain caves.

### Arts

In the lands of the Erkendhal Chiefdoms, prayers aren't made in hushed voices or in the privacy of one's own mind. In the lands of the Ergendir, prayer is made into glorious song and amongst hundreds, for that is the only way the strained ears of Erghin can hear them. In the religion of Erghinism, prayers are loud and harmonious due to the fact that in Erghin's old age, he is losing his hearing and he still wishes to listen to the prayers of his people. If a tribe shares a common prayer and wish for their lord to hear them, they join into these choirs that are composed of a tribe's men and women. The priests of Erghin serve as conductors for these zealous choirs, reigning in the emotions of the people, in order for their message to be understood. It is thanks to these communal events that the people of Erghin have such close bonds, because the only way such angelic songs can be sung, is by having the community working in harmony.

### Clothing

Uzbhalic leatherwork is crude but ergonomic, making the most of scant resources when abundance is lacking.

### Cuisine

As the Uzbhalic people have taken to the grasslands of central Idaros, they also have to take to what the grasslands provides. The Verdenti Plains provides plentiful harvests of complex grains and many herds of horned cloven beasts, not to mention the ever abundant Grass-tail lizards. With these the ingredients, the Uzbhal make splendid meat dishes that come with sides of a wonderful mix of riced rooted vegetables and grain.

### Education

The way the Uzbhal traditionally teach their youths is in the form of a thing called a Kodora. A Kodora is something of a traveling class, where the youths of a tribe gather under the leadership of several priests of Erghin, who serve as the teachers of the Kodora. Within these Kodoras, the youths are taught the ways of their people by traversing their tribal territories. These youths remain within the Kodora till they get married, remaining a youth until then. This presents the interesting scenario where an adult may be younger than a youth. While one may see these Kodoras as possibly a great step towards education and the betterment of society, more often than not, these Kodora's end up committing violence against those from outside of the Erkendhal, attacking traders and the lone traveler. Because one needs to remember that the Kodora is where the Uzbhalic learn the ways of their people, which includes how one should fight and defend their families, and what better place to test ones skills than the battlefield.

### Recreation

The Uzbhalic People have had a longstanding tradition of dance, dating back before the founding of the Erkendhal Chiefdoms. This tradition can be traced back to when the Ergendir once lived in the Dabya Mountain range, when they lived in the halls of Erghin himself, the divine chief of the Uzbhal people. It is said this tradition was started by the Companions of the Son of Erghin, Solekh, a warrior possessed by an overwhelming rhythm. The story goes that the Companions of Solekh admired the warrior to such high regard that they wanted to become him. As a means to mimic him, these warriors copied this divine rhythm that inhabited their benefactor's every movement, incorporating it into their daily routine. Over time, these warriors acknowledged they couldn't maintain this rigorous beat, realizing they could never truly be like the blessed son of their great leader. Instead, these warriors opted to start a tradition of ritualistic dance that attempted to impersonate their holy benefactor, copying his movements and translating them into their ceremonies. Over time this ritual evolved into a form of entertainment, where fellow companions can dance in celebration, whether it be after battle or during festivals.

### Religion

The Uzbhalic people practice a religion called Erghinism, where they venerate the god Erghin, a major god of lightning, fire and trees. Erghin is head of his godly house, the Aeyaeed, where he serves as protector and provider for his family. Erghinism as a religion is built upon the concepts of good vs evil and the duality of light and dark. The morals of the religion are based around protecting and providing for the family and tribe, just as Erghin did for his family. Many priests of the religion also act as warriors given the fact that major parts of the religion are martial in nature, and as they say, practice what you preach.

Most rituals of Erghinism revolve around fire and the act of burning. This is due to the fact that fire is seen as a gift from Erghin. The gifting being a core reason why many of the Uzbhal even worship him as their god. Erghin gave the people fire with his most powerful tool, his Ax. He strikes the earth with such speed and ferocity, it is just a streak of light, something commonly known as lightning. One day, as the Uzbhalic people were watching in awe of Erghin’s might, he struck a tree with his ax and out came fire. That was the day of the first flame, a holiday practiced by all variations of Erghinism. On the day of the first flame, the Ergendir practice a ritual, reenacting the event by using a flint axe to ignite an effigy of a tree. Those who usually do this ritual tend to be young Priests of the religion, colloquially known as Fire Starters. This acts as an initiation for the young Fire Starter, letting them implement all of their techniques they have learned since before their joining of the priesthood.

### Tools

The Uzbhalic people are no strangers to the power of the ax, for they have used primitive versions of the tool for centuries. They used the tool to clear their way through the boreal forests of the Dabya mountain and they have been using the tools to wage bloody war against their own race. The ax is as much a part of the people of Erghin as is their blood and hair. and as such, they never let the tools leave their side. The Ax is so important to the people due to the fact that the tool is the weapon of their chief god, Erghin, a hunter and chief of his family, the Aeyaeed. Erghin served his family loyally with his ax, fighting off all varieties of monsters with the trusty tool and making a home for his family, leading to the Ergendir seeing it as the weapon and tool of the gods. And with this tool of the gods, the Uzbhalic people shall claim their destiny in the plains.

### Weapons

While most of the more conservative chiefs see the axe as the only weapon one needs in war, their are those pragmatic enough to not ignore the effectiveness of the bow and spear. After years of talks and consideration, those pragmatic few have convinced the rest of the tribes that the bow and spear are more than just tools for hunting, they are also weapons of war.

The Uzbhalic have acknowledged that their are better weapons beyond the axe, such as the spear and bow. But those are all tools, made for hunting beasts and chopping trees. What the Uzbhalic need are weapons designed as such, and that is why the Dagger axe was made. A weapon that was designed as a weapon, something designed to pierce through armor and shatter bone, that is what the dagger-axe is.