Xelusians - Aetherians' dark souled cousins (zel-oo-see-an)

Xelusians from Zelus or Zelos /ˈziːləs/ (Greek: Ζῆλος, Zēlos, literally "zeal") was the daemon that personifies dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal.
<><><>< The differences between the two kingdoms  of Aetheria and Xelusia increased after the first Kingdoms War. Motivated by the quest for power, control, and self-gratification, the 9 high houses of Xelusia began to enslave the common people for their own entertainment, pleasure, and profiteering. The practice of blood magic and dark magic was begun and quickly accepted in spite of the cost. Perversion became so commonly practiced, even against children, that lower class parents would pay to have their children smuggled to Aetheria, sadly most of the smugglers worked for the high houses and the children ended up in the sex trade or as slave labor or as blood sources. The Xelusian royals were so convinced that the rights of the royals and upper class superseded all others, and that their way of completely free choice without consequences for all of rank, lead them into starting a disastrous 5000-year war with the Aetherians thirteen thousand years before the Cataclysm war. By the end of the First Kingdoms War only 3 Xelusian High Houses remained, the darkest and most perverse, including the ruling house of the Astra Tenebre.
After the Second Kingdoms War was ended, the Aetherians left the Xelusians in peace for 200 years. But the surviving Crown Prince of the Astra Tenebre, and his eldest daughter, the Priestess and first Princess of the Shadows, devoted their time and resources to corrupting the honorable Aetherian culture. Marrying Xelusian priests and priestess into the Aetherian High Houses, and even leading the High King into the use of blood magic. Meanwhile perversion and blood madness reached an all time high on Xelusia. It was believed Lady Fleur of Adamos was the one predicted by the late Cruoelena (Queen Mother) of Xelusia to be the next vessel of the entity called the Cruorlena or Siren Queen, who served as high priestess to their dark demi-god who was simply called the Devourer, with her consort, the Umbrarex or Lord of Shadows. Once the Blind Oracle was indwelt by the Cruorlena entity, she became the Dark Oracle, and was claimed by the Crown Prince as their Queen. They planned to summon the Lord of Shadows, who would indwell the Crown Prince with the sacrifice of the Second Princess. It would make them the most powerful living beings on both kingdoms and many believed would ensure Xelusia's victory over Aetheria after thousands years. However, the Blind Oracle was murdered by the First Princess, who desired the Siren Queen's power for herself. The First Princess was sent to Xelusia for punishment by her father, but was able to escape and detonate the Gate Device. It is unknown what happened next but the theory is a magical weapon misfired and the detonation trapped the Xelusia and its few survivors between the dimensions. The device to draw energy from their star and focus it to open a door for the dark consciousness that lived between the dimensions instead sucked the remnants of Xelusia's star, the charred husk of Xelusia Prime, into a sort of pocket dimension. It retained the exact size and shape as the void in the middle of the nova debris area that rotates around the center point of the once- binary star system with Aetheria. To the Xelusians, it was as if their sky was peeled away by fire as their convulsing, dying star partially shed its outer layer and collapsed into a dwarf. Only a few hundred survived, protected by the highest magical enchantments and layered enchanted obsidian rooms. Stripped of their physical bodies, the Xelusian survivors became the awarenesses, the dust ghosts. Their First Princess was one of those who spent the next 20,000 years in the presence of the Devourer in the dust nebulae.

Naming Traditions

Family names

After the Female line

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Blood script Cruorlingua or Shadow script Umbralingua – Xelusian language has 2 forms common and temple – the temple blood script has its own meanings and is also numeric – words change in meaning and numeric value based on the amplifies before an after it

Shared customary codes and values

Every Xelusian is expected to give twice yearly blood offerings on the Days of Balance and Blood, but some times the Umbracruor will increase the frequency if they need more for a ritual or celebration.

Average technological level

Space Travel

Common Dress code

Loose or scant clothing due to climates.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Xelusian holidays The day of shadows returning – summer solstice The longest night or night of shadows winter solstice The days of balance and blood - equinoxes

Curses and blessings
Shadows take you. May Darkness rise. May the Shadows rise until his kingdom comes. Until the shadows rules. Until his kingdom comes. My blood and my soul serve the shadows.

Coming of Age Rites

First bleeding happens during the third decade During the 10th to 12th decades, Children are taken once a year to the temples to be 'offered' for the pleasure of the ruling class and wealthy.

Funerary and Memorial customs

the dead are taken to the meat market or burned in sacrifice

Common Taboos

There is no such thing as Taboo

Common Myths and Legends

After a brother and sister “found the Devourer” and became the first Cruorlena (queen) and Umbrarex (king), the souls of the first rulers have been passed down from generation to generation.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Women and men tattoo with Water of Darkness or paint themselves to look tattooed. Both are leaner in build than their Aetherian counterparts due to the more arid and hot nature of their world. Women are preferred to have long hair. Men are preferred to be clean shaved except the hair on their head where length of hair shows rank. Warriors and assassins keep themselves completely shaved.

Courtship Ideals

Except for the highest ranks of Royals, there is no such thing as husbands or wives.  People of rank or wealth can claim relationships with any lower class person above the age of 10 decades except of higher rank or the Xangui Assassins Brotherhood

Relationship Ideals

Sealed ones do exist on Xelusia but they are much rarer and less respected than on Aetheria

Parent ethnicities

• Aetherians - ethnicity

Related Locations

• Xelusa Prime and the Planet Xelusia