Tsokura

The city of Tsokura –or Kajyuziira, as it used to be known– is home to the only remaining sizable Pagan tribe from before the Yorsvet zo Krii (Dawn of Blood.) The reason that Tsokura was allowed to remain, and under Zharstotzka no less, was due to one main reason; the Pagans of Tsokura were able to forge weapons for Zyrei’s government during his conquest of Snegoviia –unbeknownst to the larger public, of course. Currently, Tsokura is also used as a sort of prison, or work camp; any low-tier criminal or non-Zheiva gets sent to Tsokura 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 town of Tsokura –along with the Kajyuziira Tribe– has changed very little from its inception, with a heavy emphasis on following tradition embedded into their culture. Due to this fact, almost all of their ancient practices and beliefs remain to this day. The town’s architecture reflects this as well, built with materials easily available to its people rather than anything overly exotic.

Modern History
Tsokura 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 Tsokura 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 Tsokura are Zheiva, much like the rest of Zharstotzka; however, most of the Zheiva in Tsokura are known simply as “Pagans” by most other Zharstotzkans, due to them still following the religion of Kuzax. Due to this disconnect with more orthodox Zharstotzkans, Pagans will often treat their new prisoners with compassion and care, feeding & nursing them just as they would any other Okyudii. 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, an Okyudii prisoner will eventually become integrated into Tsokura’s society, and effectively become a regular citizen –although, they are not officially recognized that way by the proper Zharstotzkan government.

Although Tsokura & the Zharstotzkan government had their quarrels over the years, none of the Zhurs were ultimately willing to force Zharstotzkan ideals fully upon the town, for various reasons; having a long history of blacksmithing prowess along with practically being the country’s only large-functioning prison led to the town being invaluable. As such, Tsokura was allowed to remain fairly autonomous for the most part, with only occasional Zhur intervention regarding larger issues.

Zharisnya
Okyudii life would be disrupted suddenly when foreigners from another world arrived. On their home (sub-)continent –which the foreigners began calling Adramis– the Zheivara as a whole began getting pushed further and further south, with the foreigners claiming more and more “empty” land for their far-off empires. Ultimately, the Zhur during this period made the decision to move all of Zharstotzka’s population elsewhere for security, and ended up merging with a nation of fellow catfolk peoples just west of them, on the sub-continent now being called Cathelet. This merger left only room for 2 of Zharstotzka’s towns to be re-established, and with such limited space, the Zhur ultimately chose the capital of Snezhana, and the indispensable Tsokura (which got its name during this time, being referred to as Icicle before this, and even Kajyuziira before that.)

Religion
The main religion of Tsokura is known as The Children of 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.

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
Before Zharstotzka merged with Relisnya, Tsokura allowed complete freedom of religion. This was due to the inhabitants primarily following Kuzax, which was different from the national government’s official religion.

Tsokura allows for any creature and/or species to live there with relative ease, making it the most racially diverse town in Zharstotzka; however, their main population still remains as Zheivara, and any Non-Zheiva were allotted less rights.

The reason that those from Tsokura are referred to as Okyudii is because of its origins in Zheiyuz; the word is a portmanteau between Okrogei (Outskirts) & Yudii (people), combining roughly to mean "the people on the outskirts."

Before the move to Cathelet & merge with Relisnya, Tsokura was known as Icicle. The name 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, and 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. Once they moved however, to preserve their culture better, the Tsvanak decided to change their name to Tsokura, the Zheiyuz translation of icicle.