Zhu’khondar (Zhoo-KHON-dar (ʒuˈxõdar))

The Zhu’khondar, or Ice Tribes, are resilient Zemanii who thrive in the unforgiving tundras and frozen landscapes of Tanaria. Their way of life is deeply tied to the ice and snow, reflecting their adaptability and respect for the harsh environment. Like most Zemanii, they are cautious of outsiders, but the scarcity of resources in their frozen homeland makes them more willing to interact with others when it benefits their survival.
Despite their wariness, the Zhu’khondar are known for their resourcefulness and ingenuity, crafting tools, shelters, and clothing that ensure their survival in extreme cold. Their communities are tightly knit, emphasizing cooperation and mutual aid as key to enduring the challenges of their environment. While pragmatic in their dealings with others, they value alliances and trade as means of securing vital resources that cannot be easily obtained in their homeland.
The Zhu’khondar have evolved distinct physical traits to endure the extreme cold and treacherous conditions of their icy homeland. Their smaller ears minimize exposure to frostbite, while their skin tones—whites, greys, and icy blues—blend seamlessly with the snow and ice, providing natural camouflage against predators and the environment. Like their Desert Zemanii kin, the Zhu’khondar possess thick tails that store fat, offering both insulation and an essential energy reserve during harsh winters. These adaptations, combined with their innate resilience, make them well-suited to thrive in one of the most unforgiving regions of Tanaria.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Zhu’khondar speak a dialect of Zemakar known as Khondakar, shaped by their icy environment and the practical demands of life in the tundra. This dialect reflects their deep connection to the frozen landscape, emphasizing precision, brevity, and the use of sound and silence to convey meaning. While distinct, Khondakar is fully intelligible to other Zemanii, maintaining linguistic unity.
Core Traits:

• Brevity is key, as the harsh cold makes prolonged conversations impractical.
• Many words mimic the sharp, crisp sounds of cracking ice or the whisper of snow.
• Heavy use of metaphors tied to the ice and snow, reflecting their environment’s influence on thought and language.
• A reserved, deliberate tone, with pauses often used for emphasis.

To the Zhu’khondar, Khondakar is more than a means of communication—it is a reflection of their environment and values. Outsiders often describe it as sharp and haunting, with its crisp sounds and quiet pauses evoking the tundra’s vast silence. For the Zhu’khondar, speaking Khondakar is an act of survival and reverence, ensuring that every word carries purpose and weight.

Shared customary codes and values

The Zhu’khondar adhere to a set of unspoken yet universally respected customs that guide their actions and ensure survival in the harsh tundra. These codes emphasize resourcefulness, unity, and respect for the frozen environment, balancing pragmatism with their deep spiritual connection to the ice and snow.

1. The Code of Preservation

"Take only what you need, and give back what you can."
The Zhu’khondar believe in sustainable living, taking from the land only what is necessary for survival. Overhunting or overharvesting is taboo, as it risks disrupting the fragile balance of the tundra’s ecosystem. This principle extends to all aspects of life, including resource management and trade.

2. The Pact of Kinship

"The tribe survives together or not at all."
Unity is central to Zhu’khondar culture. Tribe members are expected to support one another, especially during the harshest winters. However, those unable to contribute meaningfully to the tribe’s survival are not prioritized, reflecting their pragmatic view of community welfare.

3. The Law of Shelter

"A warm fire is shared, but no flame burns for free."
While the Zhu’khondar will not abandon a traveler to the tundra’s merciless cold, any aid offered comes with an expectation of value in return. Outsiders must demonstrate their worth through skills, knowledge, or resources. Failure to contribute risks losing the tribe’s protection.

4. The Code of Frosthounds

"Protect those who protect us."
The Frosthound are sacred to the Zhu’khondar, seen as both companions and essential partners in survival. Mistreating a Frosthound is considered a grave offense, punishable by expulsion or worse. These creatures are to be respected, trained with care, and honored for their loyalty and service.

5. The Silence of Snow

"The tundra listens, so speak with purpose."
Unnecessary noise is frowned upon, as it can attract predators or disrupt the serene environment. Speech is deliberate, and actions are often communicated through subtle gestures. This custom extends to storytelling, where the deliberate pacing of words mirrors the stillness of the frozen world.

6. The Ice’s Justice

"The cold punishes all equally."
Justice is swift and impartial, reflecting the tundra’s unforgiving nature. Crimes such as betrayal, theft, or endangering the tribe are dealt with decisively. Punishments may include exile into the tundra, a symbolic act that allows the cold to pass judgment on the offender.

7. The Oath of Ancestors

"Their wisdom keeps us warm."
The Zhu’khondar revere their ancestors and their traditions, believing that the spirits of the departed guide them through the ice and snow. Disrespecting an elder or neglecting ancestral rituals is considered a breach of trust with the tribe and the spirits that protect them.

8. The Sharing of Light

"A light shared is a bond forged."
Fires are a sacred symbol of survival and community. Sharing a fire is both a practical and spiritual act, signifying trust and unity. However, this gesture is reserved for those who have proven their value to the tribe, reinforcing the balance between generosity and pragmatism.

Philosophy of the Codes

The Zhu’khondar’s customary codes reflect their belief in balance and resilience. Each code is designed to uphold the tribe’s survival while maintaining harmony with the unforgiving tundra. To the Zhu’khondar, survival is a collective effort, and their customs ensure that every action, whether toward the land, their tribe, or their Frosthounds, serves the greater good.

Common Etiquette rules

The Zhu’khondar’s etiquette reflects their need for survival, unity, and respect within the harsh tundra environment, blending practicality with spiritual and cultural traditions. Many of their customs emphasizing hospitality, resourcefulness, and harmony with their frozen surroundings. Social interactions are deliberate and purposeful, with every action carrying meaning and intent.

Hospitality and Sharing

While the Zhu’khondar are wary of outsiders, they uphold a tradition of offering shelter and warmth to those in need, provided the guest can contribute in some way. Sharing a fire or a meal is both a gesture of trust and a test of reciprocity. Refusing to assist in tasks or provide something in return is seen as disrespectful.
Meals are communal events, with the best portions often reserved for elders or those who contributed most to the hunt. Refusing food is considered rude unless there is a clear reason, such as fasting for a ritual.

Respect for Silence and Speech

Silence is not awkward among the Zhu’khondar but a sign of thoughtfulness and respect. Speaking out of turn or interrupting someone is considered impolite, as it disrupts the natural rhythm of conversation and the environment.
Words are used sparingly and deliberately. Idle chatter is frowned upon, especially during tasks or in dangerous conditions, where focus and efficiency are paramount. Compliments and thanks are often conveyed through small gestures rather than words.

Gestures and Body Language

Nods or subtle hand movements are used to acknowledge others, rather than verbal greetings. A raised hand with an open palm signifies peace or a willingness to engage.
Lowering one’s gaze or bowing slightly when addressing an elder is a mark of respect. Elders are considered the wisdom-keepers, and their words are treated with great reverence.

Interaction with Resources

Waste is a grave offense. Using resources thoughtfully and taking only what is needed reflects respect for the environment and the tribe. For example, leaving remnants of food or improperly discarding materials is seen as both wasteful and disrespectful to the spirits of the tundra.
Gifts, when given, are practical and meaningful, such as a well-crafted tool or a piece of preserved food. Accepting a gift obligates the recipient to reciprocate when the opportunity arises.

Rituals and Spiritual Etiquette

Certain areas of the tundra, such as burial sites or places of spiritual significance, are treated with utmost reverence. Visitors must observe rituals, such as leaving an offering or maintaining silence, when entering these spaces.
Before consuming food or starting a hunt, a small portion is often set aside as an offering to the spirits of the tundra. Disregarding this practice is considered both impolite and spiritually dangerous.

Etiquette with Frosthounds

Frosthounds are treated as members of the tribe, and failing to greet or acknowledge them when entering a Zhu’khondar encampment is a sign of disrespect. Visitors are expected to approach them cautiously and with reverence.
Feeding a Frosthound without permission from its caretaker is considered inappropriate, as their diet is carefully managed. Offering food to a Frosthound without the tribe’s consent could disrupt their delicate balance.

Philosophy of Etiquette

The Zhu’khondar’s etiquette emphasizes mutual respect, purposeful interaction, and a deep connection to the tundra. Every custom serves to reinforce their collective values, ensuring that relationships—whether with people, nature, or spirits—remain harmonious and balanced. To the Zhu’khondar, etiquette is not just about politeness but about survival, respect, and gratitude for the harsh yet beautiful environment they call home.

Common Dress code

The Zhu’khondar’s dress code is a blend of practicality and cultural expression, designed to endure the tundra’s extreme cold while showcasing their identity and achievements. Their clothing consists of layered insulation, beginning with soft, moisture-wicking base layers made from animal fur or woven fibers. Outer layers are crafted from thick pelts or hides, often from caribou, seals, or frostbeasts, treated to repel snow and ice. Hoods and headgear lined with fur protect against frostbite, while boots and gloves made from seal skin or leather provide warmth and durability. These garments are essential for survival, offering protection against icy winds and freezing temperatures.
Adornment is an integral part of Zhu’khondar attire, with embroidery, beads, and charms used to convey personal and tribal identity. Patterns resembling snowflakes, frost lines, or constellations are embroidered into clothing, reflecting spiritual significance or storytelling. Beads made from bone, ice, or polished stone are sewn into garments or braided into hair as symbols of protection and luck. The muted tones of white, grey, and blue dominate their clothing, blending with the icy surroundings, while bright accents are reserved for ceremonies or personal distinction.
Ceremonial dress is both functional and elaborate, featuring pristine furs, intricate embroidery, and symbolic masks or headdresses. These garments, worn during rituals or celebrations, represent unity, resilience, and spiritual connection. The Zhu’khondar’s clothing is largely unisex, tailored to individual needs and roles, with personal expression encouraged through unique patterns or decorations.
To the Zhu’khondar, clothing is more than a tool for survival—it is a statement of their harmony with the tundra and their place within the tribe. Every piece serves both a practical and symbolic purpose, reflecting their resourcefulness and cultural heritage.

Foods & Cuisine

The Zhu’khondar’s cuisine reflects their resourcefulness and adaptability in the harsh tundra, relying on nutrient-dense, locally sourced ingredients that sustain them in extreme conditions. Their diet consists of meat, fish, and foraged plants, all prepared in ways that maximize energy and preserve resources. Meals are simple yet meaningful, emphasizing practicality, survival, and their connection to the icy environment.

Staple Ingredients

The Zhu’khondar’s reliance on the tundra shapes their dietary staples.

1. Proteins: Meat from caribou, seals, and frosthounds (when necessary) is a primary food source. Fish from icy waters, such as trout or char, is also a staple.
2. Foraged Plants: Edible roots, mosses, and hardy berries like cloudberries or crowberries are gathered during the brief growing seasons.
3. Fats: Seal blubber and animal fat are essential for energy and warmth, often consumed raw or rendered into oils.
4. Preserved Foods: Dried meat and fish, as well as fermented vegetables and berries, provide sustenance during the long winters.

Cooking Techniques

Due to the scarcity of resources, cooking methods are efficient and focused on preserving nutrients.

• Roasting and Steaming: Meats and fish are often roasted over open flames or steamed using heated stones wrapped in leaves.

• Drying and Smoking: Meat and fish are dried or smoked to extend their shelf life, creating portable food for hunters and travelers.

• Fermentation: Vegetables, fish, and berries are fermented to preserve them and enhance their nutritional value.

• Raw Preparation: Certain foods, like seal blubber or fish, are consumed raw to retain their natural energy and nutrients.

Signature Dishes

Khondar Stew
A hearty dish made from caribou meat, roots, and moss, slow-cooked over a low flame. The broth is thickened with animal fat, providing warmth and energy.
Frostbite Wraps
Fish or meat wrapped in leaves and steamed with hot stones, often flavored with local herbs or fermented sauces.
Snow Cakes
Dense cakes made from ground roots and berries, mixed with rendered fat. These are portable, high-energy snacks for hunters.
Blubber Tallow
Rendered seal blubber used as both a cooking fat and a direct food source, often spread on dried fish or roots.
Frozen Berries
Hardy berries stored in ice, served with fermented fish or roasted meat during celebrations.
Iced Milk Soups
Soups made from frozen milk and fish stock, flavored with moss and herbs for a refreshing yet nourishing meal.

Preservation Practices

Preservation is central to Zhu’khondar cuisine, ensuring food is available year-round despite the tundra’s harsh conditions.

• Ice Caches: Foods are buried in the snow or stored in ice caves to maintain freshness.

• Drying and Smoking: These methods are common for preserving meats and fish, creating lightweight, durable food supplies.

• Fermentation: Both a preservation technique and a way to enhance flavor and nutrients, fermented foods are a dietary staple.

Communal and Ceremonial Practices

Food plays a vital role in Zhu’khondar ceremonies and community gatherings.

• Communal Feasts: Large meals celebrate successful hunts or the return of traveling hunters, reinforcing bonds within the tribe.

• Ritual Offerings: Before consuming a meal, a small portion is set aside as an offering to the spirits of the tundra, thanking them for their bounty.

• Storytelling Over Meals: Meals are often accompanied by stories passed down through generations, connecting food to their history and identity.

To the Zhu’khondar, food is more than sustenance; it is a reflection of their adaptability and respect for the tundra. Every ingredient and preparation method serves a purpose, ensuring that nothing is wasted. Their cuisine embodies their connection to the land, the spirits, and each other, sustaining both body and spirit in the frozen expanse.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

The Zhu’khondar’s beauty ideals are deeply rooted in their icy environment, emphasizing traits that signify resilience, harmony with nature, and practicality. Physical beauty is closely tied to survival, with pale skin tones—whites, greys, and blues—featuring natural patterns resembling frost or ice cracks considered especially striking. Thick, well-maintained tails are admired for their role in storing fat and ensuring survival during harsh winters, while bright, reflective eyes in shades of icy blue or grey symbolize wisdom and adaptability. Long, thick hair, often braided or adorned with ornaments crafted from bone or ice, is valued both for its aesthetic appeal and its practicality in providing warmth.
Adornment and expression further enhance their beauty ideals. Jewelry made from materials like polished bone or carved ice reflects their connection to the tundra, and clothing crafted from animal pelts and insulated fabrics is both functional and symbolic of skill and status. Subtle scarification and tattoos mimic the patterns of snow and ice, marking personal achievements and milestones. Beyond physical traits, the Zhu’khondar value a calm and steady demeanor, which reflects inner strength and composure in the face of adversity. Practical skills, such as hunting or crafting, are also considered attractive, as they signify capability and contribution to the tribe’s survival. Ultimately, beauty among the Zhu’khondar is a reflection of their harsh yet serene homeland—both an outward and inward expression of strength, grace, and adaptability

Gender Ideals

The Zhu’khondar’s gender ideals are shaped by the harsh realities of their icy homeland, where survival requires cooperation, adaptability, and shared responsibility. While they recognize biological differences, their culture places greater emphasis on an individual’s skills, contributions, and resilience, rather than strict gender roles. Flexibility and pragmatism define their approach to gender, allowing for fluidity in roles based on need and ability.
For Zhu’khondar women, qualities such as endurance, resourcefulness, and nurturing strength are highly valued. Women often serve as leaders in resource management, healers, or spiritual guides, balancing practical tasks with roles that sustain the tribe’s morale and unity. They are celebrated for their ability to persevere through hardship, with motherhood seen as an act of both personal strength and communal contribution. However, women are also trained as hunters and defenders, embodying a balance of nurturing and protective qualities.
Zhu’khondar men are admired for their physical strength, endurance, and ability to navigate the unforgiving environment. They frequently take on roles as hunters, scouts, and builders, contributing directly to the tribe’s survival by securing resources and protecting its members. However, intellectual and emotional strength are equally respected, and men who demonstrate wisdom, ingenuity, or a strong connection to the spiritual world are held in high regard. Fathers are expected to mentor not only their own children but also the broader community, ensuring survival knowledge is passed down.
The Zhu’khondar also recognize those who do not fit into traditional gender roles, valuing them for their unique contributions and perspectives. Individuals who excel in skills or knowledge that transcend typical roles are celebrated for their adaptability and versatility, aligning with the tribe’s belief in pragmatism and survival.
Ultimately, the Zhu’khondar’s gender ideals reflect the balance and adaptability necessary for life in the tundra. Each individual is judged by their ability to endure, contribute, and uphold the tribe’s unity, with gender serving as a secondary consideration to one’s actions and character. This approach ensures the tribe remains cohesive and strong in the face of their challenging environment.

Relationship Ideals

The Zhu’khondar’s relationships are deeply rooted in their survival-focused culture, where mutual support, adaptability, and trust are paramount. Romantic, familial, and communal bonds are all shaped by the need to endure the tundra’s challenges, emphasizing shared responsibility and cooperation. Their bond with the Frosthounds, integral to their survival, also reflects their values of interdependence and loyalty.
Romantic relationships among the Zhu’khondar are built on mutual respect and practical compatibility. Partners are chosen not just for emotional connection but for their ability to work together in ensuring the well-being of their family and the tribe. Courtship often involves shared tasks, such as hunting or constructing shelters, allowing individuals to demonstrate their reliability and resilience.
Commitment ceremonies include symbolic acts like crafting shared tools or exchanging items of survival value, representing the couple’s pledge to support each other. While passion and companionship are important, the Zhu’khondar prioritize partnerships that strengthen the tribe as a whole.
Families are the backbone of the Zhu’khondar community. Parents are responsible for teaching their children essential survival skills, such as navigating the tundra or maintaining Frosthounds. Child-rearing is a communal effort, with elders providing wisdom and guidance while younger members ensure the tribe’s continuity. Respect for one’s ancestors and the lessons they’ve passed down is deeply ingrained, and family bonds are seen as a reflection of the tribe’s strength.
Friendships and communal ties are based on trust and shared experiences. These bonds are forged during collaborative tasks like group hunts or the care of Frosthounds. The Zhu’khondar value loyalty and reliability, and those who prove themselves trustworthy are seen as essential to the tribe’s cohesion. Friendships often involve acts of mutual support, such as sharing scarce resources or assisting with challenging tasks.

Relationship with Frosthounds

The Zhu’khondar’s relationship with Frosthounds is one of profound interdependence. These massive, dog-like creatures are fully domesticated and play vital roles in the tribe’s survival, from hunting and transportation to companionship. Frosthounds, with their thick, snow-white fur and frost-tipped tails, are perfectly adapted to the tundra’s harsh conditions but entirely dependent on the Zhu’khondar for their care and survival.
Frosthounds serve as partners in hunting, using their keen senses to track prey across the snow. They are also valued as mounts, with their muscular builds allowing them to carry supplies or riders across the tundra. Beyond their practical roles, Frosthounds provide emotional support, acting as loyal companions and symbols of the tribe’s resilience.
The Zhu’khondar, in turn, care for their Frosthounds with great devotion. Training them is a rite of passage for young tribe members, symbolizing their readiness to take on adult responsibilities. The Frosthounds’ dependence on the tribe highlights the mutual trust and bond between the two, with the Zhu’khondar viewing these creatures as extensions of their family.

"The Zhu’khondar are as cold and sharp as the ice they walk on, but don’t mistake their frost-bitten demeanor for cruelty. They know survival is no small feat in a land where even the air tries to kill you. If they let you near their fires, it’s because they see value in you—or perhaps they pity your fragile warmth. Either way, tread carefully; they don’t suffer fools, and they’ll leave you to the snow if you can’t keep pace."

— Taron Greaves, Human Explorer and Cartographer

Encompassed species

• Zemanii

Languages spoken

• Zemakar