The Norade & Noradanean Mysticism

The Norade people are a human tribe of Nether nomads, steadfast warrior-mystics who used the Nether to journey vast distances. They are spread thin across the earth, forsaken by their own homeland, bouncing between the Overworld and Underworld as though lost.

Values
The Norade use Nether portals to fast-travel across the Overworld in order to cover as much distance as possible. This involves spending significant amount of time in the Nether, and so the Norade value in a person strong principles, a stiff spine, and skill in combat, all necessities for surviving the trials of the Underworld. The Norade place great value on sanctuary and hospitality, which are virtually nonexistent in the Nether. The Norade do not forget charity.

The Norade are a composite people - They hold that their traditions, in particular their Mysteries, are the true binding force which connects all Norade people. Anybody can share in the Norade traditions.

The Nether
The Norade use Nether portals to fast-travel across the Overworld in order to cover as much distance as possible. The Nether is a perilous place, full of wicked creatures and treacherous terrain, but nonetheless, the Norade see the Nether as a sacred, purifying place - Dangerous, but sacred. This runs contrary to the beliefs of many surface-dwellers, who see the Nether as a corrupting force to be tamed and subjugated. Many Norade resent the exploitation and docilization of the Nether by various civilizations, including the building of sealed Nether roads, which they see as an attempt to escape the Nether's purifying rigors. While in the Nether, the Norade scavenge to survive. They make clothes from Strider hair and Hoglin skins, and loot ruins to find equipment and goods to trade when they get back to civilization.

The basic necessities of life require even the Norade to resurface frequently to collect water, food, and fill their lungs with fresh air before plunging once again below the surface. They typically use this time to get their bearings look for places to explore, and if they find themselves in a populated place, they might settle down.

Netherite
Netherite in particular is held in particular value, and "Norfaire" tools (As they are called in their tongue) are regarded as a gift to Nether-dwellers to aid them in their fight for survival, and a symbol of the Coreine Noraneon's purifying power. A rusted scrap of dark slag, born in the dark heart of the lower realm, is refined by fire into the strongest metal in the known world. Those Norade who are regarded as particularly pure-hearted are said to have "Cardane d' Norfaire" - Hearts of Netherite.

Noradanean Mysticism
The Noradanean Mystics of old sought the source of the voice of ALITE, or the "Voice from the stone," the voice of a void god who whispered to them from above the Nether's bedrock ceiling. It is said that the Norade first heard the whisper of ALITE while lost in the Nether, learning from it hidden truths about the nature of reality.

Norade culture and beliefs are described in more detail in the Mysterium Noradaneon, a series of tomes written by Tirado an Hu'enh of Müviel-Osundir - The first of the Norade to come to Rathnir.