The Eillori Atmar

The Eillori Atmar still to this day worship the ancient god of creation, and as they for generations they have lived isloated from the rest of the population, their culture has remained largely unchanged.
The meaning of the name Eillori Atmar is said to be "Of God's Spirit"

They live in the furthest upper-right corner of the continent (in the light). They call their territory, Khotar. It is isolated from most everywhere else by a mountain range that runs along the border to the country to their left and by many kilometres of frozen and barren forest, that runs along the west side of the mountain range. This is why, the rest of the empire knows so frighteningly little about the Eillori, and why they have been able to keep their old traditions and culture, even as the rest of the world moved on.

System of government

The Eillorian government is a type of Theocracy. Two leaders rule together over the Eillori Atmar, and share power between them. The Eillori believe in balance over everything else, and it is believed that having two people share power is the best way to avoid korruption.
These two heads need to be opposites, as they are supposed to represent the two polars of nature, destruction and life. The Eillori therefore don't go by a simple heriditary monarchy, as the two heads need to fulfill certain criteria before they can take up their places as head of state.

Head A - The Mother of Life

• Head A must be a girl, as the Eillori believe that women are closer to the god of Life, as they are able to carry children and therefore bring new life into the world.
• Head A must have a powerful connection to nature. They say that the Mother of Life can feel life summing beneath her fingertips and hear it in the way her footsteps crackle against the undergrowth.

Head B - The Father of Destruction

• Head B must be a boy, so he can act as an opposite to Head A. Furthermore, it is strongly believed by most members of the Eillori Atmar, that boys are more naturally violence-prone and agressive than girls, and are therefore more suited to the role as the Father of Destruction.
• Head B must also have a powerful connection to nature, but not in the same way as Head A. Whereas the Mother of Life is the life-bringer, the Father of Destruction is the Keeper of Death. It is said that even when he is alive, the Father of Destruction has death running through his veins, and that he can see the life-lines of every person through the color of their blood.

Together the two represent the Leader of the gods, the God of Creation. The Eillori take this duality from this passage of their holy book among others:
Only when the threat of death is upon us does life receive its meaning; death and life are two sides of one coin, for without one another they loose their distinction, both are endless states of nothingness, static periods without experience, passion or beauty. Do not fear death, celebrate it as the creator of life. Do not idolize life, it is nothing on its own.

From what is regarded as the best translation of the Eillori's Holy Book, although some scholars argue that the original text means shell instead of coin. This is however impossible to decide for sure, as the word for shell in the old tongue is synonymous for that of coin.

The selection process: Both the Mother of Life and the Father of Destruction are chosen for life, as children, and rule until their souls delve away from their bodies and back into nature. Once they are chosen, they are bound together and cannot live without one another, as they become not only each others partner and confidante, but the counterbalance to the others person. The mother is compassionate while the father is agressive, the mother tender and mild, the father wild. If one of them dies, so does the other and for this reason the Father and Mother are always chosen as a pair.
Due to their strong connection to nature, the Heads of the Eillori are said to be able to feel in themselves whenever their time to pass on is near. For every pair it is different, but signs of their oncoming death has been described as everything from visions of themselves having returned to nature - both in dream and in sleep, to a flicker in their power and a tingling in their bones.
Once the pair has had such a revelation, they start the search for the next heads, this process will often take years, as they have to find not just a single individual, but a pair who together will be able to take on the burden of leading the Eillori.
Usually the Heads will look for two children between the ages of 4-14. If they are any younger, it's impossible to know whether or not they will be fit for their position, any older, they will already be set in their ways and wont be able to become who they need to be, to be either the Father of Destruction or the Mother of Life. The ages 4 and 14 are however the extremes, and usually a child will be between 6 and 11 when they are chosen. Choosing the right candidates will often take years, as it is not only the two heads who have to agree, but also the council of noblemen and women who rule with them who have to say yes. Most people do however view this as a very necessary precaution, as it is absolutely vital that they choose the right child.
Once they are chosen the Father and the Mother set about training them, so that they will be ready to take over once the time comes. Most of the time the Mother and Father aim to have the children be at least 18 when they finally have to pass on, but oftentimes the children will be as young as 15 or 16 when they take over the roles as Father of Destruction and Mother of Life, as the precise time of passing is decided by the gods alone. Usually the Mother and Father will get about ten years of warning, but it can be as little as five or as much as twenty, there's really no way to know.

The Culture of the Eillori Atmar

The importance of the number two:
In contrary to stereotypes perpetuated by the empire, the Eillori Atmar are a highly succesful and enlightened culture. Though their technology is not as advanced as that of the empire, their depth scientific knowledge is much bigger than most people are aware.
For example the traditional love of the number two, is often thought of by much of the Empire as a one-dimensional, blind and primitive worship of their gods. While this is true for some of it, the Eillori see the number two as being all around them in nature and using the number two the Eillori can describe any phenomena in the world around them. Some scholars of the Empire, have called the the Tug and Pull effekt. The famous historian and anthropologist Conrad Huberman wrote about the Eillori's obsession with the number 2 this:
They see the number two as the birthplace of everything else in the universe. Two is the number of opposites, life and death, beginning and end, up and down, right and wrong, black and white, and the universe, they claim, is made up purely of opposites and their mixtures. Take humans for an example. We are both evil and good, but have each have a different mixture and act on different parts - no one is purely evil or purely good. All humans instead are composed of different forms of middle-ness or mediocrity; good and evil is blended together and a balance is reached. Evil pulls towards darkness, good towards the light, but they are both immovable due to the other's effort. This is the Tug and Pull effect of the number two.

Excerpt from "On the Number Two" by anthropologist and historian Conrad Huberman.

Furthermore, as the Eillori grew to understand nature, science and mathematics, they found further proof for the importance of the number two. A pure element for example can only exist in nature if it is bound in a molecule with another atom (fx dioxide), and 2 happens to be the smallest prime number as well as the only equal prime, all of which has further showed the Eillori the unique and divine nature of the number 2.
The number two, as you have seen above, also turns up in the system of government, but this is not the only part of the Eillori's day to day lives which is influenced by two.

The Twelve Tribes

The Eillori Atmar are traditionally split into twelve different tribes that are spread throughout Khotar. Though these nomadic tribes have long since become full cities and other villages, not connected to tribes have sprung up, they still distinguish themselves by and identify with the tribe, they're closest to.
Throughout most of the year the 12 tribes live pretty isolated, by frost and snow, but during the summer festival, travellers from all of Khotar, come visiting the capitol city, Aidon. Here the leaders of the twelve tribes collect and they discuss the problems in their country. It is also at the Summer Festival, that the new Heads of state are chosen.
The twelve tribes, are as follows:

• Dorna
The Capitol of Khotar. Is located on the coast of Khotar, up north. Is the home of some very holy sites and the most powerful spring of magic in all of Khotar, from which the city sprang up around, but nowadays it is a sprawling city equipped with the countries best learning institutions.
• Abtea
• Kovarii
A tribe by the sea. The city is placed at the southern-most tip of Khotar. The tribe is known for fishing, and fir being a merchant town and a center for trade.
• Kron
• Sylori
• Valier
• Ioa
• Aidon
A tribe by the mountains. One of the smaller Tribes, but also very historic, as it is built by the foot of the Grand Waterfall.
• Polamir
• Lopae
• Tehatta
• Kleiross