The Zerywani

The Zerywani are horse-nomads of the vast plains of Luxterra. The Zerywani Plains are considered the ancestral origin of humanity itself, and Zerywani identity is tied to the Three Brothers: Zehi, Rossovi, and Lechi.

History¶

Ages ago, the Zerywani Hordes gathered under one banner and conquered across Luxterra, bringing death and destruction to empires and kingdoms before returning to their home plains. That campaign remains their greatest remembered moment, and its memory still frightens settled peoples of the west.

In later centuries, the descendants of the Three Brothers largely kept to traditional territories, though western Zerywani have begun moving herds onto the steppes over the last few decades.

The Zechii and the Cult of Jelen¶

Among the children of Zehi, the Zechii were pushed from their homeland of Dortry by aggressive Samoyi tribes. When all seemed lost, the great celestial deer goddess Jelen protected them through magical soulgem mines, and Starogod rose with magic walls emerging from Mount Jelen.

Where the Zechii are said to be blessed with knowledge, their younger brothers the Lechii, children of Lechi, are blessed with martial prowess.

Soul Magic and Starogod¶

Starogod became a magical center. The Jelenia University of Magecraft and its School of Soul Magic teach the Starogii Style, an Aldic form of magic that manipulates souls, alongside Elixircraft and Wood Elven Folk Magic.

It was here that the archmage Rzezimir, from the rejected class of elixir-brewers, discovered the "truth of Soulgems": consuming them empowers the mage but drives him to madness. From this discovery came the Cult of the Soul.

The Zechii dream of reuniting their people, reconquering ancestral lands, and founding the Kingdom of Souls.

See also: Zerywanic, Luxterra, Aldic, Soul Cult, and Folk Magic.