Palonem
The Palonem live in the Crystal Fields, a beautiful but inhospitable region on Azpal. Ways of not just surviving, but thriving, in the land are passed down from generation to generation, only orally until long after they developed their own writing system. Traditionally, very few Palonem have left their homeland on a long-term basis. Despite the harsh living conditions in the Crystal Fields, its people are proud of it and their lifestyle, and very few choose an easier life.
Every aspect of their culture--cuisine, architecture, fashion, etiquette--revolves around survival and their environment. The Crystal Fields has two seasons--summer, which is blisteringly hot; and winter, which is bitterly cold--and abrupt temperature/weather changes are not uncommon. The Palonem are prepared for all climates, foreseen and unforeseen.
As a hunter-gatherer society, their diet varies according to migration patterns and growth cycles as well as seasonal nutritional requirements, and they keep preserved food in storage at all times. Their clothing is made of materials which keep the individual cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather, and the design covers most of their body to protect from extreme weather. Their feet are the most protected, as many areas are impossible to cross without treading on sharp geodes. Despite the protection, the feet of Palonem when studied show extremely tough soles, which develop very quickly in childhood as the individual learns to walk.
The biggest change to the Palonem's way of life came with the eruption of Djoro, which resulted in most of Azpal becoming uninhabitable, and most Alpazoi leaving the planet. The Palonem refused to join the mass evacuation, since their home was hardly affected. In Post-Apocalyptic Azpal, the Palonem were looked to by the few other remaining Alpazoi, who had either slipped through cracks in the evacuation system or had elected to stay for various reasons. The Palonem's main religious organisation, the Palki Order, decided that their people had a duty to help their planet, and started a movement to preserve what was left of Azpal's ecosystem and teach others to survive in the new environment. As a result, migration out of the Crystal Fields went from being an anomalous occurrence to common, as most of the Palonem joined the cause.
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