The Ardu

**The Ardu** are a faction of Humans on Zenith who occupy the regions of Arduamis. Due to the hot climates of Arduamis, over time, The Ardu evolved to have more malenin in their skin, giving them a darker tone, which helps protect them against damage from ultra-violet light.

The Ardu are a religious civilisation, worshipping the God Itheretan. They have a monarchical government, which has unlimited power over the kingdom. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic and representational duties. When the King dies, he is succeeded by his apprentice, whom is traditionally the King's son, and the Queen is forced to retire her position. The bodies of previous Kings and Queens are embalmed and buried within great pyramids around the cities.

The Ardu have a particular fascination with beauty; they make jewellery and headpieces from rubies, sapphires, gold and ivory that they cultivate from the land and animals.

## Class System

Ardu live in a three-tier society, consisting of the upper class (Ardu), the undead (Mayit Ardu) and slaves (Ardu Slaves). It is near impossible for a member of the slave class to become a member of the upper class, and to date, this has never happened.

### Ardu

A member of the upper class' wealth is measured by the grandiosity of their home, and the amount of Mayit Ardu and slaves they own. Both the Mayit Ardu and slaves are forbidden to own property, and must be owned by a member of the upper class. The Ardu order the Mayit Ardu and slaves to do various tasks, and have unlimited control over what they do.

The Ardu also make up most of the military forces, as slaves are too weak to fight in war. Some Ardu are conscripted into war efforts, and must leave their family home to be run by the next in line, whether that be their wife, or oldest child. If they have no lineage, the house will be taken care of by a neighbouring Ardu family until their return, and if they do not return, the neighbouring family will take over ownership of the home. Female Ardu are forbidden to join the army.

### Mayit Ardu

When an Ardu slave dies, they become a Mayit Ardu. The Mayit Ardu have the same role as before, and are owned by the same Ardu family, unless ownership is passed onto another family. Mayit Ardu behave similarly to slaves, but do not have the ability to talk, and they will follow orders without complaint, usually making them a favourable resource than slaves. However, after around 3 weeks, a Mayit Ardu will have rotten beyond usability, meaning they will no longer be able to walk, hold things, etc. Until the time that a Mayit Ardu's nerves have rotten away, they will still be able to feel pain. Usually, the rotten flesh of a Mayit Ardu is reprocessed as food for animals.

Due to the aggressive nature of a Mayit, Mayit Ardu are often used in war efforts.

### Ardu Slaves

Generally seen as Itheretans least favourite, the Ardu slaves are the lowest class in Ardu society, and are owned by a member of the upper class. The Ardu can tell a slave to do any job they wish, but they usually get a bit of choice in this. Male slaves might be miners, farmers, blacksmiths, labourers or house servants. Female slaves might be dancers, cooks, jewellery makers, prostitutes, child minders or house maids.

Slaves are encouraged to produce as many children as possible, to ensure there are enough slaves for the next generation, and are often forced to perform sex with each other by the Ardu, although Ardu are forbidden to engage in sex with a slave unless that slave is a prostitute. If a baby is conceived between an Ardu and a slave prostitute, the baby shall be killed upon it's birth.

## Cities

Having settled on Arduamis, the Ardu built cities in the most habitable of locations, in Jabal, Bihara and Alsafana. One Ardu family will own multiple small box-like buildings, or slums, where the slaves sleep, which surrounds one impressive building, where the main Ardu family lives. This layout occurs all across the cities.

### Madina

Madina is the capitol city of Arduamis, located in the region of Jabal, which is in the north east. Most of the buildings are made from sandstone cultivated from the mountains of Jabal. Ardu family estates occur all across Madina. In the centre are larger buildings; temples of worship, theatres, stadiums, military houses and commercial buildings. Madina is home to the Ardu Monarchy.

### Albina

Albina is the second largest city in Arduamis, located in the region of Bihara, which is in the south east. The buildings here are made from the sandstone cultivated from the mountains of Jabal, and transported usually by boat. Although Albina is the second largest city, and the second built, it is by far the poorest city, as the land around it doesn't produce much in the way of valuable resources, with the exception of ivory, used to make jewellery. Most income is gained through trading timber, wheat and salt from Lashay, the neighbouring region.

### Shamal

Shamal is the smallest city, located in Alsafana, which is in the north west of Arduamis. Buildings here are also made from the sandstone cultivated from the mountains of Jabal, and transported usually by carts and slaves across the deserts of Ramala and Alharu. Buildings are also made from stone cultivated from mount Azraq. Most of Shamal's income is generated from the export of timber, wheat and sapphires.

## Relations with other factions

The Ardu have not had a great time making connections with other factions on Zenith. Although the Ardu are generally friendly to other factions when they meet, they have noted that other factions generally seem to dislike the concept of slaves. The Ardu are also a vain civilisation, and they hold a grudge.

### Casadians

The Ardu have had a strained alliance with the Casadians. First meeting was generally calm, but they soon began to dispute when a trade route was built in Alsafana, passing by the city of Shamal. At the time, The Ardu were not benefiting from it, and so they began encamping around the trade route. When the Casadians came to settle the matter, The Ardu were ready to fight. However, the matter was eventually settled by accepting The Ardu into the trade agreement; trading timber for make-up powder with the Casadians.

A second dispute came about when the Casadians procured echo liqueur. A Casadian came to the Ardu with a proposition of black market sales of the echo liqueur, which the permission to do so had to go through the Ardu monarchy. When the deal fell through, the monarchy took this as a personal attack, sending the Rapphire Army to the gates of the Casadian capitol city to settle the dispute. They asked for money as a repayment for the damages done, however, as the Casadians couldn't afford the price they were given, they instead gifted the Ardu with their supply of Coldsteel.

### Ixel

The Ardu have had very limited relations with the Ixel, only ever having come into contact with one Ixel for a short period of time. The Ardu noted that the Ixel look and talk strange, and he worshipped the "Maker" which the Ardu thought must have been Itheretan.

### Kami

The Ardu have had limited relations with the Kami, when a band of Kami travelled south, they stopped in Madina to rest. The Ardu understand the difficulty of travelling the barren land, so they gave the Kami food and water. The Ardu noted that the Kami liked the pyramids and wells in the slums, and performed what the Ardu assumed to be a religious ritual around them.

### Signa

The Signa were the first other civilisationand species the Ardu met. The Ardu have had relatively good relations with the Signa, setting up a trade agreement with them early on, after the trade agreement with the Casadians was settled; trading jewellery for iron. Due to the patchy relations with the Casadians, and the relationship between the Casadians and Signa, the Ardu consider their relations with the Signa to be on thin ice at all times.

### Tirians

The Ardu have had limited relations with the Tirians, having only ever met a travelling merchant. The Ardu noted that the Tirian looked strange.

### Wanderers

The Ardu have had limited relations with the Wanderers, when a band of Wanderers travelled south, they stopped in Madina to explore a new civilisation. The Ardu noted that the Wanderers had a particular dislike of slaving. The Ardu introduced the Wanderers to salt as a means of preserving meats, and sent them on their way with a jar of salt.