Icicle

The city of Icicle –or Kajyuziira, as it used to be known– is home to the only remaining sizable Pagan tribe from before the Dawn of Blood. The reason

that Icicle was allowed to remain, and under Zharstotzka no less, was due to one main reason; the Pagans of Icicle were able to forge weapons for Zyrei’s government during his conquest of Snegoviia –unbeknownst to the larger public, of course. Currently, Icicle is also used as a sort of prison, or work camp; any low-tier criminal or non-Zheiva gets sent to Icicle if caught.

Tribal History
Kajyuziira was named after the Zheiva tribe that established, and now rules it. The Kajyuziira Tribe was primarily a group of people who followed the religion of Kuzax & used the abilities it granted to become great blacksmiths. Blacksmith culture has been a part of Kajyuziira since the very beginning, due to it being so closely related to their religion.

The Kajyuziira Tribe has changed very little from its inception, with a heavy emphasis on following tradition. Due to this fact, almost all of their ancient practices remain to this day, with the town itself not changing very much either.

The name Icicle comes from the whereabouts of the town; being established on the very outskirts of Zharstotzka, it had plenty of interaction with outsiders who spoke only Common. Because of their difficulty in pronouncing Kajyuziira, the elders of the town decided to officially rename themselves to Icicle, to more easily communicate with non-Zharstotzkans.

Modern History
Icicle is a name that strikes fear to any Zharstotzkan citizen outside of the wooden town, and is used by the Zharstotzkan government as a prison where they send petty criminals or any non-Zheiva without proper papers. They use the threat of Icicle in much of their anti-crime propaganda, painting it as a camp where people are sent to work for the rest of their lives. For any extreme criminal case however, the punishment is often much worse, with executions & solitary stone cells being commonplace.

Despite all the propaganda however, many of the people forced to live there describe it as more of a second home. The main population of Icicle are Zheiva, much like the rest of Zharstotzka; however, most of the Zheiva in Icicle are known simply as “Pagans” by most other Zharstotzkans, due to them still following the religion of Kuzax. Due to this disconnect, Pagans will often treat their new prisoners with compassion and care, feeding & nursing them just as they would any other Icickan. Still being prisoners of course, they are made to work in the town, but often, working conditions are fairly tame, and will on rare occasion even involve pay. In most cases, a Icickan prisoner will eventually become integrated into Icicle’s society, and effectively become a regular citizen –although, they are not officially recognized that way by the official Zharstotzkan government.

Religion
The main religion of Icicle is Kuzax. The core belief of the religion is that magic isn’t inherent to certain races or creatures, rather that certain races or creatures are simply more attuned to be able to manipulate the magics inherent to the world of Abexilas; in essence, they believe that magic is a sort of renewable resource that creatures can tap into & manipulate to their will if they are trained enough. It is through this manipulation of magic that the Children of Kuzax believe that one can achieve true immortality; they believe that you can have so much control over your mind, spirit, body, and magic, that harm & time ceases to faze the individual.

Kuzax magic (Kriiyu,) as described by Nurax Kuzaniiya Rekojyin, an ancient Kajyuziira elder; “The Kriiyu flows through the world like wind, and just like wind, it is invisible until interacted with. In order to see and interact with the Kriiyu, you must first train your spirit to handle it; if one’s spirit is not trained properly to channel Kriiyu, it can become corrupted, or even wilt entirely. And in order to train one’s spirit, one must train their body. Training the body is essential, for the training tests your spirit like little else will.”

The Kajyuziira Tribe training for Kuzax is one of the most tortuous exercises that exist. They are made to train with little-to-no clothes in the freezing cold for hours on end and involves various different workouts for every muscle in the body, with no small amount of training the body’s endurance. While they perform these workouts, the trainees are expected to learn & recite various spiritual sayings relating to the Kajyuziira Tribe & their practices, and once they finish their workout for the day, they are expected to eat like the ancient cat ancestors of the Zheiva ate; by hunting for their food. To finish beginner training, a person must keep up this routine for around 1 year, and to achieve basic mastery of the Kriiyu, it is said that some train up to 5.

Once a Child of Kuzax is able to channel the Kriiyu through themselves, they gain many otherworldly abilities. One of the most prominent of these is a power referred to as "Forging," which involves the person channeling Kriiyu into an object of their choosing, imbuing it with different magical capabilities. Although it is fairly quickly gained, a mere beginner is not able to choose what magic is imbued within whatever item very easily, and might take around a day; on the other hand, a master is able to more precisely wield this power, only taking them around an hour to finish. Primarily because of this ability, Kajyuziira's economy was –and still is– almost solely fueled by blacksmithing.

Another of these prominent abilities is the one known as Manipulation. Manipulation is the ability to have control over one's body and any object they're in contact with; the extent of this power can range from making your own body more flexible to making an object feel lighter as long as you hold it. That being said, it's an incredibly difficult thing to have full control over, and takes great focus & concentration. Usually, this ability only begins to manifest when a follower reaches the rank of master.

Mythos
The Children of Kuzax don’t necessarily believe in any gods, many do however believe in the Kriiyu creation myth. “Long ago, in our small world of Abexilas, long before the Zheiva –or almost any living being for that matter– inhabited it, there was a small group of beings known as the Descheitora who wielded untold power, and supposedly, were immortal. They had resided in Abexilas for thousands of years now, and their leader, Kuzax, was beginning to grow tired, and felt as though he no longer had purpose. You see, before they moved to our world, they were the sailors & navigators of our sky, arranging the celestial bodies as we see them today. The Varjii did this to fuel their own society, the people known as the Descheitora. The Descheitora were beings who lived in the vast sky, and they sent the Varjii to Abexilas to create a great blacksmithery. The Varjii made the moon to act as their anvil, taking years upon years to finish; however, Kuzax volunteered to do the most arduous task, and made the sun as their forge, producing heat unlike anything we could ever understand. Not long after however, the society of the Descheitora collapsed in a great war, leaving The Verjii as the last remnant. Their dead compatriot’s fiery souls littered the sky after the war, acting as the stars we see now. Tired, and without purpose, Kuzax and his group decided that they would breathe life back into the universe. They bent the earth and skies to their will, preparing it for their children, and when it was ready, they would sacrifice their own undying souls for us. The death of Kuzax and the death of The Varjii is what gave way to life in Abexilas, and what created the Kriiyu; the very magics we manipulate to this day.”

Artifacts
The Krii necklace is an artifact forged long before the Zheivara inhabited most of Snegoviia. It is believed to have been forged by some of the first tribe members of Kajyuziira. The necklace in and of itself does nothing; however, if a Child of Kuzax is already proficient in the manipulation of Kriiyu, the necklace can grant the ability to give life to a previously dead being, making them undead (or Anezh, in Zheiyuz.) The driving factor for the necklaces’ creation is believed to have been to extend the life of promising Children of Kuzax; since they believe that true immortality is the end goal for themselves, it’s possible that they saw this necklace as a “next step” of sorts.

Traditions
The leader of the Kajyuziira Tribe is known as the Tsvanak (or the Archpriest, in Common.) The Tsvanak is not only the political leader of Kajyuziira, but also the primary religious leader, hosting the most important spiritual events of the town. The Tsvanak also has a separate duty; they must reanimate the most prominent Children of Kuzax.

The Anezhak are Children of Kuzax that dedicate themselves to the religion both in their life, and death. To become an Anezhak, one must first achieve the rank of master in their lifetime, and only then, may they choose to opt in by speaking with the Tsvanak. The Tsvanak may then use their Krii Necklace to breathe new life into the follower’s body after their death, leading to their resurrection. On rare occasions, the follower returning to life may not have trained their spirit hard enough during their life, and this can lead to its corruption, and the permanent death of the follower. If a follower becomes corrupted during the process, the body must be quickly discarded, usually through flame; if a body is not disposed of quickly, it may begin acting of its own volition, and this usually involves great violence & anger.

General Facts
Unlike the rest of Zharstotzka, Icicle allows complete freedom of religion. This is due to the inhabitants primarily following Kuzax, which is different from the national government’s official religion.

Icicle also allows for any creature to live there with relative ease, making it the most racially diverse town in Zharstotzka; however, their main population still remains as Zheivara.