Zarmudan

"I hereby cast off my earthly, physical body. To you I dedicate myself in mind, body, and soul. No longer will I desire the luxuries of life, the comforts of home and hearth, strong drink or gluttonous food, or the company of the unworthy."
"My desire is Heavenward. I commit myself to full spiritual perfection. I pray then, that you find me worthy to become Ascendant."
"Ascension it is you I seek. To stand before the Gods I would strive ever in Faith. Heaven it is you I seek. To bask in the love and glory of the God Kings is the greatest reward. To become a God King myself, the ultimate triumph."
"Hear then! I renounce my ties to family, race, title, and creed. I am no longer of mortal kind, prone to squabbling, infidelity, corruption, and pettiness."
"I take up my pilgrim's staff. I shall stride forth and make the journey. And always into eternity I am Zarmudan."
The Pilgrim's Surrender to Faith

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

There are various religious orders in the Fatherland. These orders are charged with educating the populace, training missionaries, and upholding the teachings of the God Kings.

History

To be a Zarmudan is to cast off all ties to the world and to seek Heaven and, if you're lucky, the chance to Ascend. If you are extremely powerful and faithful, you might go beyond and become a God King yourself.
Any mortal could become a Zarmudan. The name refers to those who have given themselves completely to worship of the God Kings, religious perfection, and spirituality.
Zarmuda (Faith), Singular. Zarmudan (Faithful), Plural.

The Shaping Age

Before there was Zarmuda there were the God Kings. Father and Mother, known as the Couple, came ashore during the mysterious Shaping Age. Hand in hand, they helped create the world. The Father created his city, Heaven, dividing it from the Earth below. The Mother created everything below, bestowing her blessings to the first creatures that came to be.
The Father and Mother were soon joined by their offspring. Together they shaped they shaped the inhabitants of the world. These first inhabitants were lovingly crafted. Settling together, these inhabitants would be called the Zarmudans. These original Zarmudans were totally pure beings. Their descendants would make up the Radiant Host, commanded by the Warrior. The Fatherland of Zarmuda was a paradise but only a shadow compared to the splendor and glory of Heaven.
After their centuries long work the God Kings were content to observe their world, only intervening if there was a threat to their creations or if something needed to be mediated. All the God Kings demanded was tribute, a measure of thanks for all that the God Kings had gifted.

The Divine Age

The Zarmudans were driven to explore. They wandered, coming into contact with the Goblins (and later the Uribans), the Dwarves, and humanity. These other creatures were fully mortal compared to the Zarmudans. The Zarmudans were demigods amongst mortal kind. These other races were soon placed under the rule of the Fatherland of Zarmuda. As the Zarmudans traveled the world, they made contact with the distant Elven Realms in Minuba and rumor has it the paradise lands of Far Haven in the distant west.
Zarmuda itself was at the peak of its power. Temples as tall as mountains dotted a calm, green landscape of rivers and majestic peaks. While other races excelled in certain careers, such as traders or builders, the Zarmudans were the spiritual leaders of the world. Wherever their Missionaries walked more and more converted to the service and worship of the God Kings. Those who believed were urged to embark on a Pilgrimage.
A Pilgrimage was a challenge. Those with the strongest faith would embark on a journey to Zarmuda itself. Their faith would be tested every step of the way. For those who succeeded in their journey they earned the right to call themselves Zarmudans and to live amongst the Gods in Heaven. Even greater rewards awaited the truly devout. From all of the mortal races, individuals emerged who proved to be beyond demigods. These were worthy of Godhood itself.

The Artificial Age

Following a wave of faith came an explosion in innovation. The Artificial Age was a golden age in a golden age, a time when the God Kings' people were perpetually at rest and lived in peace and prosperity. Even more faithful made the journey of Pilgrimage to Holy Zarmuda. Yet as the Artificial Age continued a sickness of faith began to afflict the people. From mortals all the way up to the new God Kings, questions began to shake the fundamental truth of the God Kings.
These questions would soon lead to the most devastating conflict in history. It would shake the foundations of Heaven itself.

The War of Zealots and Martyrs

This spiritual sickness found its way into the hearts of newly born God Kings then trickled into the hearts of their followers. What began as small scale feuds exploded across the continent into open warfare. In Heaven the original God Kings worked tirelessly to stem the tide of violence. Even in Heaven war found its way to those sacred halls.
One of the God Kings, now known in whispers as the False God, had launched his schemes for total domination. While the original God Kings worked to soothe the minds and hearts of their followers, an attempted assassination of the Father nearly led the world spiraling into chaos. Before the Father would be slain, his firstborn son the Warrior drove the betrayer off. Disrupted Heaven and the Fatherland of Zarmuda was not able to stop the war.
Driven from Earth, the False God began rallying the disenfranchised, hopeless, and the faithless. Forging them into an army, he soon invaded the Fatherland of Zarmuda. Then he besieged Heaven itself.
Waging war on all fronts the Fatherland and its Zarmudan Vennacti struggled to fight the selfish acts of the usurper God Kings as well as the betrayer False God. The Warrior personally took command of the defense of Heaven. In the devastating siege, the Warrior and the False God battled to decide the world's fate. In the end, the False God was vanquished. His defeat scarred the land of Zarmuda but Heaven was saved. The war raged on and soon a new threat presented itself.

The Darcassian Secession

Across Kiimati the Zarmudans had colonized and occupied the continent. One of the more prominent of these Zarmudans were the Darcassians. Originally seeking spiritual perfection like all others, a corrupted theology seeped into their minds, likely influenced by the evil of the False God. The Darcassians soon denounced the God Kings, proclaiming a self serving ideology of seizing Godhood through any means necessary. As one sign of their blasphemy, they devestated the blessed land of Salakhand.
Enraged by this slight to his brothers, the Scholar and the Hierophant, the Warrior unleashed such devastation to match the destruction of Salakhand. Even after the purge of Darcassia, the upstart Darcassians continued to rise in power and influence across Kiimati. Even with the death of the treacherous Hamun, once a faithful of Zarmuda, the Darcassian cause and threat grew.
Then the worse happened. Enraged at the loss of their false prophet, the Darcassians had managed to counter attack the Warrior's forces. The Radiant Host, the light of the God Kings, were killed to the last. The Warrior was forced onto the defensive.
Then at the climactic Battle of Good Harvest the Warrior was wounded. Not willing to risk more lives in defense of the city, the Warrior and his Vennacti withdrew. The Darcassian Rebels led by one of Hamun's disciples, Abelech the Apostate, launched a counter attack. Abelech was intent on destroying Zarmuda and taking his war to the gates of Heaven itself.
Unwilling to permit more bloodshed in their paradise the Couple entrusted their son, the Statesman, with negotiating peace. In the end both Abelech and the Statesman desired peace. The Darcassians withdrew and not by force of arms but through discussion and wordplay. The God Kings busied themselves with rebuilding Heaven and Zarmuda.

The Divide

To this day the world persists in ignorance of the God Kings love and mercy. The Darcassian Empire remains a separate hostile entity of the Fatherland. Once the War of Zealots and Martyrs came to an end it was finally safe for the Faithful to set out into the world once more. Missionaries go abroad seeking to enlighten those who have strayed from the path.
Zarmuda too lies apart from the world. To protect it from invaders the Sea of Grass was sown as a barrier. Mostly pilgrims travel to Zarmuda, those who in their hearts desire the enlightenment and blessing of the God Kings.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

"There is a hierarchy to everything."
Gabriel threw onto the table three things. They were miniature sculptures, depicting an insect, a dog, and a dragon.
"I am simplifying things a bit but everything boils down to this simple truth. From the lowest of lifeforms to the greatest of beings, all know their place in the cosmic ordering of the universe. It is just as ordained by the God Kings."
"I mean no offense," the Gabriel said. He gathered the sculptures back into his bag. "I'm not saying you are an insect."
Cadmus nodded. "No need to apologize. It's an appropriate metaphor. Isn't that right Eitta?"
Eitta's sleeping form did not stir, save for the vibrating of her wings.
"There is progression though, won only by those with the will and faith to strive ever for Heaven. An insect may well aspire to become a lion and then, to fly as a dragon. This is the path of ascension all faithful pursue. This too is part of the truth of the God Kings, each one ascendant from lower beings."
"What about the Darcassians," Cadmus asked.
Gabriel sighed. "The Darcassians do not see value in struggle. They seek only instant gratification, only the things of this world that can be won through force or through duplicitous means. They seek Godhood but only in its most base, shameful form. There is no worth in trying to change oneself if they already deemed their original God given selves insufficient."

Genetic Descendants

• Darcassian

Lifespan

Immortal if the are deemed worthy.

Geographic Distribution

• Zenosha