[INFO] About the Pride (Land, Culture, Tradition...)

[Nezi-ozu]

 

[Nezi-ozu]

Their Faith...

Over and above all other gods, the N'ezi-ozu revere and worship Death; they recognize that others exist, and respect them as beings more powerful than mortals, but offer them no devotion. Death, they believe, is the great unifier of all beings: everyone, regardless of their status and deeds in life, will one day be taken by Death to pass through the Gates of Heaven, never again to be known on the mortal plane.

...well, almost never. For it is also in Death's power - indeed, it is his right - to deem a soul unready for its eternal rest and deny it entrance to the afterlife, forcing it to be born again into a mortal form until its purpose has been fulfilled. This rare occurrence is regarded neither as an honor nor a punishment; it is simply the will and judgement of Death, whose reasons can be guessed at but never known. Reincarnation is not a goal strived for by the N'ezi-ozu: they revere Death, after all, not the continuation of life, although it would also be incorrect to assume that they are eager for their own deaths. Death is an honor to be earned, not blindly hurried toward. The better, fuller a life one has lived, the more deeply they will be missed and the longer they will be remembered by the kin they leave behind.

Unsurprising in a culture so steeped in death, the N'ezi-ozu venerate their ancestors. While of course they believe in an eventual afterlife for all souls, they also believe they know how to keep a soul grounded to the earth, bound to their living family until the spirit is deemed fully prepared to move on. When a member of the N'ezi-ozu dies, their body is laid out for scavengers and the elements to pick clean until nothing is left but bone; while all scavengers are welcome to help free the skeleton from its flesh, they are not permitted to take even the smallest bone. Deep in the sacred heart of the pride's territory is a complex system of caves set aside not as a dwelling for the living, but for the dead, and in these catacombs rest the bones of every pride member who has ever passed.

It is the duty of the Amoosu - the death-priests - to lay to rest the bones of the dead with those of their family who came before. The bones of each and every lion rest in a carefully defined and outlined place, marked in a system only the Amoosu know and comprehend, so that they know exactly which bones belonged to which lion, no matter how old they are. To ensure that the bones are not disturbed or misplaced, no one who is not an Amusu is ever to enter the catacombs. They are the custodians of the remains, with one exceptions: the skulls, after being ritually prepared, complete with claw-carved markings to identify them, are given to the family of the deceased to rest at the family's shrine. In this way, with the skull properly prepared and tended, the spirit of the deceased is bound to the skull, where it will live for an indeterminate amount of time. One day, whether after a year or ten years or however long it takes, an Amusu will proclaim that it is time at last for the soul to depart. Once all its living family had paid their final respects, the skull will be shattered and the fragments placed with the rest of the skeleton in the catacombs.

In rare cases, when great crime or treachery has been committed, no bones but the skull will be kept. The skull will still be prepared in the ritual that binds the soul to it, but it will be neither enshrined nor shattered. It will be buried deep within the earth to be forgotten, the soul forever trapped, never to move on to the afterlife. Among the N'ezi-ozu, there is no greater punishment.

 

[Nezi-ozu]

Their Families...

The Thirteen Families of the N'ezi-ozu each trace their heritage back to Death's thirteen chosen from whom they descend. They are a patriarchal society, and lineage is followed through male lines, although there is no formal division of families in life - these are not clans or houses, and they do not use surnames. It is in death that family becomes most important, as each family has its own shrine and its own section of the catacombs. No family is known for any one trait, physical or otherwise, as by this point they have all married back and forth into each other so many times that whatever defining features they may once have had have long been lost. Each family is known by the name of its founder, who themselves bore the names of causes of death.

When a couple is married, the female becomes a part of the male's family, and that is the family into which their cubs will be born. When an outsider joins the pride, the Amoosu will commune with the ancestors to determine which family wants them, and a living member of that family is expected to step forward and exchange blood with the newcomer, solidifying their new bond. From that day onward, for all intents and purposes, the newcomer is as brother or sister to the one who came forward for them. In the N'ezi-ozu, there is no difference between a blood-sibling and a biological sibling: they are related, which means they will not be able to take as mate anyone to whom they are now related more closely than second cousin.

The Thirteen Families

Akaraaka (fate)
Agadi (old age)
Agha (war)
Aghugo (treachery)
Aguu (famine)
Ahuojoo (sickness)
Elo (venom)
Odachi (disaster)
Mberede (accident)
N'anya (love)
Nganga (pride)
Nkunwu (apathy)
Uju (grief)


A note on Families: Unlike clans or tribes or other subgroups of prides, the families are families and those that enter are considered to be like adopted siblings, aunts/uncles, nephews/nieces, etc. (depending on the age relation to other members). As such, marriages happen between not inside families, even if members aren't blood related.

 

[Nezi-ozu]

Their Way of Life...

Species

The N'ezi-ozu are a lion-only pride, and were traditionally limited in their acceptance of familiars. Traditionally, Amoosu partner with ravens, N'echebe with vultures, and Enyi with jackals. With the more ready acceptance of outsiders, familiars are becoming more common. Only bird species and non-prey familiars are allowed.


Names

Names must come from a language in the Bantu family.


Marriage

• The N'ezi-ozu mate for life, and more often than not for love. There are no arranged marriages; although family members may 'encourage' certain matches, the final choice is always up to the prospective couple. Adolescent marriages are uncommon, but neither forbidden nor actively discouraged. If a female becomes pregnant without being married, then congratulations! You're married now. If she refuses to identify the father and he does not step forward, she will be stripped of her family and expelled from the pride. If this happens, and the father later reveals himself or is discovered, he too will be disowned and exiled.
  
• Rogue breeding is not permitted under any circumstances; if it was done willingly, the offender will be disowned and thrown out. If the mother is a victim, she will be allowed to stay if she so chooses, but as they have no father, her cubs have no family, and will be treated in a similar fashion to rogues: an Amusu will examine and determine to what, if any, family they will belong. It is possible that some or all of the cubs will be rejected, in which case they will be taken beyond the borders and left.
  
• Hybrid breeding is absolutely not allowed, and though as with rogue breeding the mother will be permitted to stay if she was unwilling, the cubs will always be killed.
  
• A widowed lion/ess may remarry, though in the case of a lioness, it must be into the same family as her previous mate so that she isn't changing families a second time. If her deceased mate has an unmated (or widowed) brother, it is common for him to offer to marry her, though he is not obligated to make the offer, nor she to accept it.
  
• Divorce is extremely rare, and only possible if the couple has not yet had children together. If it is a case of disappearance of the mate's player, after 6 months the mate can be written as having disappeared/being presumed dead, in which case the remaining lion/ess will be considered a widow.


Gender and Sexuality

The N'ezi-ozu are...neither fully open- nor closed-minded. They have no room for genders other than male and female, but do accept that someone in a male body can truly be female and vice versa, and an individual will be regarded as the gender they say they are. Same-gender marriages are accepted, but surrogacy gets a little tricky, due to the importance of family lines.

Ideally, the surrogate should be a sibling of one of the parents, but if neither parent has a sibling who can serve as a surrogate, another family member can be sought. If the potential surrogate has a mate, their mate must also agree to the arrangement.


Accessories:

Shortly after birth, the Amoosu grant each cub a token of protection: a tail vertebra from their most recently-deceased ancestor, which is strung onto a simple leather necklace that they will wear until adolescence. Once the first token is no longer needed, it will be returned to rest with the skeleton it came from.

Upon coming of age, an adolescent will surrender their childhood token and be presented with a new one, this one chosen by the Amoosu from amongst all the deceased family of the young lion/ess. It is always a phalange - a toe-and-claw bone - which females traditionally tie into their hair and males wear as a necklace, and is more decorated than the token that preceded it, but the bone itself is never painted or altered. When a lion/ess dies, their token will be returned to their ancestor.


Crimes and Punishments

• Rogue or Hybrid Breeding: Disowned and exiled
  
• Infidelity: Both parties disowned and exiled
  
• Trespassing in Catacombs: Blinded, regardless of age
  
• Murder, Rape, Infliction of Serious Intentional Harm: Death, after which the skull will be prepared and buried to prevent the soul from ever reaching the afterlife


Gods and Deities

First and foremost, Death is the only god given reverence in the N'ezi-ozu, for it is Death who chose the original 13 lions that would create the 13 families. It is N'ezi-ozu belief that Death is a deity preceding the existence of Mkodi herself, having come into existence with the universe.

That being said, it is known that Mkodi brought both mortals and other gods into existence. While other gods may be acknowledged as existing, no deity save for Death would be given any special treatment. At this time, with the changes happening in the pride and the resistance towards those changes, other gods trying to enter the pride lands would likely be turned away.

 

[Nezi-ozu]

Death, and Burial Rites...

In the Past

Before the pride was struck down by the plague, their traditions were very different. Historically, the family used to consume the flesh of their fallen family member in order to assist the Amoosu in preparing the fallen's soul for the next stage in their journey. However, as the pride fell to the plague, the Amoosu realised that the very souls they were helping to move beyond the veil, were also the ones that were cutting the journeys of the living short.

At the height of the plague, the Amoosu made the decision to halt the consumption of the fallen. From that point forward, all fallen lions were to be prepared in a new manner, though the families were still welcome to assist with the preparations for the soul's journey.

Only the very oldest/most ancient of the pride will recall participating in this practice; while the older survivors of this plague will recall the period in which the practice was halted.


In the Present

The Amoosu opted to ensure that the bodies of the fallen continued to be prepared to their own, high standards. Thusly, while scavengers were permitted to strip these fallen of their flesh, they made sure that not even a single bone was lost in the process.

It is expected that the family will assist the Amoosu in this process by watching over their fallen family member, chasing away the unwelcome, or reclaiming that which shouldn't have been taken during his process.

When this process has been completed and the bones are fully exposed, the Amoosu then takes these into the catacombs to prepare them for their passing. The skull is handled separately, and when ready, is shattered to release the soul and allow it to continue on its way.

In the case of criminals, the skull is buried intact and the soul is trapped for eternity.


Important Notes:

1. The changes to burial rites is taken by the Death Priests rather than the Onyeisi, these changes are absolute and must be respected.
   
2. We would ask that the majority of characters be played within the period that remembers the practice, but when this practice was halted.
   
3. If we notice that a large number of people are implying their character (historically) consumed their family members, or are doing so now, we reserve the right to explicitly forbid it going forward.
   
4. We reserve the right to change/adjust these rites for metaplot purposes!

 

[Nezi-ozu]

Their Lands...

The N'ezi-ozu reside in an expansive caldera/network of calderas. The caldera has ample room for the pride and is (generally) cut off from outside rogue lions due to steep cliffs and generally impassable terrain, though more fleet-footed animals and those that can take to the wing can make their way in.

Prey herds are known to reside within the caldera a little ways from the main pride living area where a waterway that runs through the lands makes for reliable grazing.

The main pride living quarters consists of an area nearby a waterway. Lions can make dens within nearby rocky areas or caves within the wall of the caldera itself, not far from where the main pride might gather.

Farther from the main pride gathering area is the entrance to the catacombs where the Amoosu do their work. The area around the entrance is thought to be sacred and where remains may be laid out. While this area is not forbidden to pride members, it might be suspicious to be hanging out for no reason, especially directly near the entrance to the catacombs, which are forbidden to those that are not Amoosu.

Farther still near the distance side of the Caldera is an area known to be dangerous due to the particularly steep cliffside. Going here is generally forbidden, and this area is thought to be where the Trial of the King is held.

Part of the reason the N'ezi-ozu have remained unknown to the outside world is due to their distance from the main SoA lands - to travel to the Caldera from the Pridelands would take close to five weeks. The current closest pride is Tianxia, which lies about a week and a half to the east of N'ezi lands.

Jebel Marra/Deriba Caldera

[Map here]