The Indurmasti Anthology:

((As suggested to me by Spadge, might be a  little rough, but, I hope you like it. = )  ))


The people of Kar’Rasa are a quiet, enduring people who live amongst the bitter yellow steppes of their homeland. These inhabitants, denoted by the term Ras-Kariid, inhabit a narrow country of chance provided by bordering mountains and descending rivers, which provide the dry country the inkling of life. This land has been their birthright going back to times when great jungles sprouted over the lands, and in those times, they inhabited the jungles as the slaves of the brutal Naga masters of the elder growth. They would advance, and maintain, in the time between the two

These people are often a particularly average height, if a little smaller, with a lightly tanned skin that often darkens due to the harsh sun, and bitter steppe wind. They have a well proportioned form and a fair musculature that suites the drudgery of their lifestyle. They have sharp features and small eyes, usually running a range of hazel colors, from yellow to a deep brown. They usually contain heavy brow or facial hair sets, with a range of hairstyles to suit their finer black hair. They share the deep thirst and praise for water that the Sidans do, however, their culture vilifies bodies of water and salt water; they lack a greater appreciation for running water in usage for hygiene as a result, in addition to the somewhat luxurious commodity it can be in their world.

The Ras-Kariid are a simple, quiet, people who are proud with their persistence in the face of their neighboring Sidans. Their hard lives, just as difficult as the aforementioned neighbors, without the ruling aristocracy, live in a tribal situation with a strong natural patriotism for the land upon which each tribe has existed. Technological adaption has come with rarity over the stretches of wastes from Sida and Pycheko, however, the mountainous silk road has given them a constant source of colorful interaction, consisting primarily of trade, an established trade route, and the occasional Gaerdic Raiding Party roving over the countryside from this rural road; however, these raiding parties would mostly threaten the rich, and thus leave the Ras-Kariid safely alone.


The Ras-Kariid also value traditionalism and status among their people. They often carry a roughly similar, and similarly rough stratum of procedures to which each particular region holds to. Most village clusters carry a totem animal as their symbol of pride, honoring their land. Similarly, they hold an idea of ‘Tepsahik’, translating to: “Strong Breath”. Their idea of Tepsahik dictates that the common man has little in the way of spiritual power or ability to reach enlightenment, it is instead it is carried within those exceptionally blessed in attunement with their faith, whom are remembered for generations for their displays of might and glory. This power similarly descends in their line continually until eventually the descendents cannot prove their heritage, and similarly, the hero of old forgotten. There is little in the way of an organized clergy amongst the Ras-Kariid, merely local congregation who practice and prey in their old traditions, passed on via the word of mouth. They look upon the common mage with great spite, believing them to lack conviction, strength, and intelligence; to the Ras-Kariid, their arts and practices are supreme, and that one would squander magical talents with simple magery is just as insulting to themselves, if not more so, than to the Ras-Kariid. Similarly, masculine and feminine roles are clearly defined in their cultures, and as a farmer must never aspire to dishonor himself and those around him by aspiring to be a scholar, so must men and women never attempt to stray from their roles.

The faith of the Ras-Kariid is known as Indurmatai, and its practitioners are known as the Indurmasti, wherein hence, the Ras-Kariid obtain their most popular name. Indurmatai traces its roots back to ancient times, varying depending on which cluster of Ras-Kariid tribes you speak to. It seems to universally draw back to a time when, at one time, the entire region was a lush savannah. Most insinuate that they were created by what they regard as the Ancient Naga, born to be a slave race, constructed from the dirt of the dry seasons, and the water of the typhoons, as to be strong and resilient. They speak of being uplifted through a spirit older more so than the Naga, that called to them through their slavery and repeated attempts at exodus from their oppressors. This is the spirit they call Mon-Hyrilik: “Essence of Breath whom is Lord”, and his worship is what gives the Ras-Kariid their culture.


The Ras-Kariid live simple lives, and adhere to a caste system of sorts that holds together based on the education received from their priests, and their meager means. There are farmers and hunters whom provide food, artisans taught to craft, and a unique mergence of commonplace and temple prostitution where a sect of women are encouraged to satisfy male company within their spiritual hierarchy, but also to help provide population for the tribe. The Ras-Kariid boast no educational means aside from what they will need in their particular lifeset. Farmers are taught to farm, hunters taught to hunt, warriors taught to fight, scholars taught to read and write the old scriptures, priests to lead the people and the practice, and the prostitutes to serve; the only education offered is that of the Indurmatai dogma, and it is that which shapes their lives. Those born to lower castes with magical potential may bring their families great honor by ascending into the priesthood; also, any fighters above your simple village spearman, all scholars, and all clergy are elevated from their caste limitations by initiation into the Indurmatai clergy as Indurmasti. However, women are not given this opportunity, nor are they always held to the same standards as the men are; a man might satisfy himself with a woman of the courtesan class without a harmful thought, whereas, a woman might be stoned for adultery on hearsay.


The struggles of life do not end there, for in the Indurmatai ideals, the afterlife is a cold, wasting place where the soul is reduced solely to breath, and it wanders the Earth until it is acquired and put to use by someone or something, following this with continual purgatory. This is an exemption for the Indurmasti, whom swear their souls to Mon-Hyrilik and his eventual emergence into the world to reduce all to breath once more, and rebuild the world again. Their souls will join together and form Mon-Hyrilik’s great champion, Aghrapor, whom will aid him in the battle against the re-assembled void. There is no other semblance of difference in the afterlife for the Ras-Kariid. Morality makes no difference, especially with their demur stance on crimes. Most crimes are considered honor crimes, and left to be carried out between individuals, and not spread to others; other crimes, such as heresy, grand heresy, heretic traitorism, adultery with a non-prostitute female for men, and any adultery from women are considered shameful crimes, and are usually carried out with capital punishment promptly.

Even the most educated of modern scholars have difficulty placing this faith into tying in with the other perspectives of Aeria; however, many have speculated the affinity for death, decay, breath, and corpulence to the Dead God of Death: Moander. The Ras-Kariid take this comparison (and an explanation of this) as a great insult, and will swear honor-crimes upon those whom make such claims.


It is now that we focus on the Indurmasti, keeper of the Indurmatai, as it is their presence in Aeria that draws primary attention to the Ras-Kariid. These are priests voracious in their zeal and faith, believing in a faith that cycles primarily around death, and this gives them elevated status in their society. A simple village or large trading hub in the lands of the Ras-Kariid has a clergy of village faithful overseen by a single priest that is either trusted by the Indurmasti proper, or if it is a very large and prosperous settlement, a priest himself may in fact reside over the people.

The system by which they live is slightly complicated, as certain chains of respect can overlap. A villager can be a priest of the Indurmatai, but not be an Indurmasti Priest. Though this priest is elevated in respect above common plebians, he is not without the roles and duties assigned to him, whereas those valued whom are recruited into the Indurmasti have total power, and are revered as saints. Similarly, the Ras-Kariid can produce fighters that are not Indurmasti Zealots. This is more understandable though, for the Zealots go through a particular training and induction into the formal order, and are usually kept in the large monastic communities inhabited entirely by the Indurmasti alongside their servants and courtesans.

The Indurmasti foster two breeds that enter into foreign lands and spread their name and dogma; there are the warriors known as Zealots, and there are the necromancer disciples known as Priests. The warriors are skilled fighters, trained by their suffering and (supposed) deprivation, growing strong from their labor filled life, and instilled with religious fervor; they serve as both missionaries and mercenaries, going to foreign lands and earning gold and making the Indurmatai known, attempting to draw in new blood to the Ras-Kariid.


The priests are even more fearsome, part mage, part priest, fueled by divine practice and religious fury; they are mighty necromancers who focus their powers into controlling the dead in all its forms, instead of focusing on the ‘perfect resurrection’, instead accepting death as it is. These priests bring the hellfire of Mon-Hyrilik upon the enemies of the Indurmatai, and as well, tempt the hungry and curious into their dogma filled lifestyle. The Priests are more elevated than the Zealots, and only the Priests can assume ruling position over a monastic community, or the entirety of the Indurmasti.


It is said a great monastery of the Indurmasti lies hidden from the world, in the dark place of Mon-Hyrilik’s power, thankfully lost for fear of what dark deeds and great deathly power rests within.

Spoiler:

There is much disagreement between the tribes of the Ras-Kariid, however, there seems to be universal constants that do not change between the stories. Indurmatai’s philosophy begins with man’s creation by the hands of Naga, and then their resulting enslavement. The ideology preaches that it was a slave man’s call to great glory one day, when Mon-Hyrilik called to him from his ancient place of power where he is believed to have created the world; ironically, not far from where the man was laboring. The man snuck away from his slave band and entered the old place, as Indurmatai spoke to him. Mon-Hyrilik was the first to exist, and he willed himself into existence by shattering the eternal nothingness, and murdering it through suffocation by using his will and his voice to overcome the void. Mon-Hyrilik then used the various pieces of the nothing to slowly piece together a home for himself, destroying the corpse piece by piece, and placing its festering parts together so that he might rest comfortably; in doing this, Mon-Hyrilik created the world. The breath from the dead void gave him an ample supply of power to work with, and began to work it in with his own, to ease his boredom. From his breath, and the breath of the dead void, he created a great scorpion. This scorpion was powerful, and bade that Mon-Hyrilik join with his creation, or that he would suffer as his creation surpassed him. Mon-Hyrilik grew angry, and fought with the great scorpion, and eventually drove his hands into the scorpian’s mouth, and tore it in half. From the intestines of this great scorpion, the great breath of the beast met with the Earth, and so became the great god of the Naga. Mon-Hyrilik saw strength in this beast, and looked to the rest of the scorpion, which held no breath. Mon-Hyrilik drew into himself, and breathed his own breath into the carcass of the scorpion, and in doing so, he gave breath to the various veins, arteries and capillaries of the beast, giving birth to the Naga.

Mon-Hyrilik would grow weary for a time as the Naga instigated the beginning of mortal existence upon the world. Mon-Hyrilik would construct for himself a being to keep him satisfied in the times between battles and entertainment. In doing this, Mon-Hyrilik would create the first goddess, his first of many, and foremost in most female ceremonies. In the turning centuries, Mon-Hyrilik would be satisfied with her company, and that of their many divine offspring. Eventually however, he would grow hungry to work the breath again, and he would find the perfect means to do so: The man whom he spoke to now.

Mon-Hyrilik tested the man’s reasoning, his ability to serve, and his ability to work the breath. With Mon-Hyrilik pleased, the godly figure made this man the first of the Indurmasti, the first of the great priest, and the one to produce the first successful exodus from their masters.

This man, a war hero, would carve out an enclave every so often, remaining free of their oppressors, and learning more of Mon-Hyrilik’s Indurmatai, his holy word. Mon-Hyrilik blessed the Indurmasti priesthood with his sacred breath, giving them the knowings of this powerful working, and granting them control of those whom do not have breath. This gives birth to the Indurmasti’s reputation of being exemplary necromancers, whom focus on practical application of the power, without the focus on the ‘perfect resurrection’. To his warriors, Mon-Hyrilik created a doctrine of training by which warriors are to be arduously trained through suffering and plight, to which man had known much of, and those whom withstood became great fighters and the ancient kings of the Ras-Kariid.

This age of holy life would end with the destruction of their jungle and the emergence of the sands and sun. Mon-Hyrilik would grow weary again and return to his family to fulfill his needs, and left mankind to itself. However, he made them a divine promise, assuring them that those whom stayed loyal and honored his powers and that of the breath, would be brought to a divine purpose at his side, and find a glorious and pleasurable afterlife following the destruction of the void that he was birthed from.


The Indurmasti practice a unique blend of commonplace and divine magics, that intertwine to produce a powerful setting of spells. The nature of the magics expand the entire dichotomy of Necromantic focus, from the creation of soulless thralls, to the manipulation of energy, the sacred field, the soul, and perhaps even palpable forms of death.

Quote :

Common Necromancy:

The defilment of the ancient Vitamantia school, and having existed perhaps as long, if not longer for the Indurmasti; Necromancy at its base, the wrestling of death and unlife to produce thralls to serve and obey. It is in this that the Indurmasti place a good amount of focus, learning to harness all that is dead, from the soil, to corpses, to spirits and perhaps even things dark and mysterious below the Earth. It is this spread of magic that gives the Indurmasti priests a considerable amount of power, however, it is a sliver of nothing in comparison to the rest of their arts, that allow them to manipulate life and death as to their whims. There is some controversy within the Indurmatai and those whom study their lifestyle as to whether or not Lichdom is heresy or blessing.

Quote :

Energy Manipulation:

The necessary influence required to work any arcane art, expanded and broadened in attempt to bring forth control over energy moreso than the common mage. Whereas those under great Lich Lords and Seal-makers may learn this trait, the Indurmatai preaches it as their divine power, and their Indurmasti Priests focus on honing this skill into a truly fearsome power. Learning how to 'breathe in' the weave is the first step, learning the nature of the Ethereal in its natural state. From this, the Indurmasti learn to control the nature and state of this power, and how it might travel. A fully fledged member of the order is able to control energy in a number of ways, and perhaps focus on removing it from a person or area; this results in the creation of death's palpable forms, such as cold, rot, and darkness.

Quote :

Sacred-Field Manipulation:

Jutting from the practice of Energy Manipulation comes the direct manipulation of living things, expanding upon the control of the Ethereal, by learning to tap into the energy that makes up the incredible power of the soul. Learning to do this takes time and effort, and begins with simple, smaller lifeforms, but can grow and adapt to powerful arts of life-taking akin to the levels of Lichdom. These arts can inflict curse-like power upon their victims, draining or attacking portions of the soul within their body, or bypassing defenses to more common forms of magery.

Quote :

Soul Manipulation:

Perhaps the darkest of dark arts, the ability to twist souls living and dead to the power of the caster, and a pinnacle of the necromantic art. Within the Indurmasti, there is a unique blend of abilities that are respectively either of the beginner level, or of legendary proportions. Simple spells for the Indurmasti begin with usurping and claiming dominance over death and the dead; claiming their purgatorial existence as something for your own purposes, and binding their power to your will. Leaving nothing more to be learned until levels beyond that of common mastery, that the Necromancer gains powers that transcend even lichdom. Control over life and death, not surmounting into the 'perfect resurrection', however, being able to manipulate the methodology of death, and tamper into fields going into the divine. Many things are banned in Sanctimonia for being considered foul... this is a thing that trapses in and out of their worst nightmares.

Cited and drawn from the biography of Zayl Rathman.

Weaving is applied alongside incantation in an ancient, loathsome language, to provide powerful casting; this language is only known in fragments by the Indurmasti, but is known as Sahik, or Breath. The necromancers focus on using death in all its forms, be it corpses, soil, cold, or rot to bring forth doom upon their enemies. By chaining spirits to their wills by ceremony, they are able to amass power which they can use to barter for knowledge, or increase their control over the Ethereal. Often, spells not involving necromancy directly by the necromancer use the power of the shackled spirits, or death around them, in conjunction with their weave, to make palpable the many forms of death; this includes: Cold, Rot, and proper Necromancy. They learn some other magics to simple degrees to allow them better access to the fruition of their works, such as Abjuration to spread the Earth, Divination as to know the presence of death, and Conjuration to assist in the binding of spirits to themselves.

Spoiler:

El Bumpo, you bad mothers.

Also, I think Spadge gives an accept for this, I won't use green text to stipulate this, as it's not his word; however, he told me in SF he was quite happy with it, and this lore was partially created for him. So, I think, when he comes back, I'll have a +1 from him.

Dominator046 wrote:

El Bumpo, you bad mothers.

Also, I think Spadge gives an accept for this, I won't use green text to stipulate this, as it's not his word; however, he told me in SF he was quite happy with it, and this lore was partially created for him. So, I think, when he comes back, I'll have a +1 from him.

Yup.

I think this is very well balanced and the Indurmasti warriors are pretty unique

Yes

moved and approved

jive and alive