Byblosi Archaeum (bib-lo-see ar-kay-um)
"We are not all savages and slavers out here, outlander. We were great kings once, in a time long forgotten and lost to the sands of the great deserts."
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Culture and cultural heritage
In the ancient past, the Byblosi Archaeum ruled over the Drylands with an iron fist with their mighty power over white nura. The other clans bowed down to their superiority and ruthless methods of conquest and control. The Byblosi Archaeum were gifted with divine insight into the nature of magic by their patron Paishum the Blinding Light.
In their arrogance, the aspect Tamalt the Asundering One punished them, marked with the eruption of the volcano Vulkra Shumar. The Sundering caused widespread devastation to the cities built by the ancient dynast kings, shattering the Byblosi Archaeum's control over the surrounding regions.
In the fall of their empire, the Byblosi Archaeum were hunted down by the other clans to near extinction. Now those few remaining stay in hiding, purifying their enemies under Paishum's divine light. They seek to eradicate all impure elements from the world.
Shared customary codes and values
The Byblosi Archaeum are from an ancient line of tokage who ruled from their palaces across the desert sands of what is now known as The Golden Dunes, they were said to understand the secrets of white nura. In the Era of Light, they ruled over a significant portion of the Drylands as well as parts of what is now Lithos and Aristolia.
To encounter a tokage from this clan is rare, as they are mostly thought to have gone extinct, all murdered or hunted down after the fall of their empire. They are the bearers of long lost secrets and mythical legends of the tokage race. It is said that those who remain still enforce the will of their patron deity Paishum the Blinding Light. The Radiant Dawn is a cult made up exclusively of this clan's members.
Average technological level
The Byblosi Archaeum are said to have been taught the secrets of the Light by the ancient gods, and that this is the source of their power.
Common Etiquette rules
A Byblosi Archaeum clan member rarely makes their presence known, prefering to operate in dimly lit rooms and crowded inns where they are less likely to be discovered. The tokage of the Byblosi Archaeum are discreet and cautious, as the going-price in the Drylands for their heads is quite high.
Common Dress code
If you are so lucky as to encounter one of these rarely seen tokage, one may note the ragged cloaks and face obscuring masks that these tokage wear. Underneath the cloaks they may wear several rare golden amulets or armbands associated with their fallen dynasty.
Art & Architecture
Deep beneath the sands of The Drylands, the long lost palaces of the ancient tokage dynast kings have been preserved. It is believed that the Byblosi Archaeum are the inventors of the arch, the abacuss, and long lost magics; allowing them to create excrutiatingly precise measurements for their sandstone architecture.
Their subterranean temples are filled with statues of giant snakes and large mirrors. Light pouring in from crevices above reflects off the mirrors and activates complex magics and seals throughout the temple complexes.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Members of the Byblosi Archaeum clan show up only when and where they are necessary, conveying cryptic advice to travelers or watching interesting heroes from a safe distance. They are guiders, teachers, and guardians of ancient knowledge.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Those of the Byblosi Archaeum see beauty only in purity. One can only be pure through the absolution of the Light. Only though absolution does one become beautiful.
Gender Ideals
The mysterious individuals in the clan see no need for distinction between men and women. There is only union and purity.
Courtship Ideals
In pairing, the priests of this clan gather to oversee the ceremonial union of two tokage. This union is considered sacred as it is also a condemnation of death. Both individuals are given their rites in front of the highest echelons of the Radiant Dawn cult and join in union on an altar.
The man is ritualistically killed and the woman is brought to a sacred chamber deep within the temple where she begins a long period of worshipping Paishum the Blinding Light in solitude before giving birth the newest member of the Byblosi Archaeum. After which, the mother is ritualistically executed in a similar manner to the man. The egg of the newborn tokage is kept safe by the Byblosi Archaeum until it is hatched.
Relationship Ideals
The Byblosi Archaeum see only foolishness in the obedience to the brain's chemical functions. Concepts such as love and hate are only illusions that get in the way of true purpose.
Major organizations
Secretive and hidden away, not much is known about this clan save for their connection to the ancient dynast kings of old.
Encompassed species
Related Organizations