Khasza
The Khasza hail from Khasruvgard, and the Deephold of Khas'Zar at large. Parts of their culture can also be seen in Sima, for they often mix with the inhabitants there, and the Simaza and Khasza cultures are siblings, descended from Khasmari. This is particularly visible in their shared reverence of the darkness, believing it allows for a deeper spiritual connection with the ancestor-deities. Their rituals are thus often performed in the pitch black, relying on sound and vibrations. Their culture is tightly interwoven with the Bergar Folkheritage.
The Khasza are proud of their clan heritages and lineages, where the marrying between two clans or houses is seen to have huge significance. The Khasza also focus more on family guilds and craftsjordsmiship, with festivals revolving around the display of exceptional skill in metalworking, weaving, alloy casting, and stonecrafts. This is where the pride in their lineage stems from - inventing styles and techniques of craft - rather than from a military history, which is often scorned or forgotten these days, unlike in the old Khasmari culture. This has also lead to a boom in technological advancements, with the Khasza being one of the few cultures to use a plethora of mechanical and fluid systems in their cities.
Culture
Shared customary codes and values
The entire culture believes in the beauty and skill of crafts, and nearly every Khasza is a member of a guild - even the children will often attend guilds in their spare time. They place a great value on the knowledge each guild has, and it is kept secret - not just from outside cultures, but those outside of a guild too. Conversely however, despite this closed-off nature, their guilds are spread across the globe, with guild-embassies in other cities. This makes the Khasza a well known culture and people, with their skills revered globally. Their works and involvement can be found in nearly every major settlement, directly or indirectly.
Foods & Cuisine
A large portion of their food comes from the Underdepths, both hunted and farmed. They rarely consume food from the surface, though it isn't disliked, merely uncommon to them. This has given a lot of their meals a distinctly nutty and woody taste, given the number of mushrooms and fungus found in the Underdepths, though a number of cavefish are also eaten.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
In Khasza culture, it is customary to touch your feelers (or forehead, for those species without them) to the floor in the entranceway of a Khasza's home when you first arrive. This should be accompanied with "aza jor'sa kaksza" in Rithnar, roughly meaning "I sense your stone" - a reference to their creation story. It shows both respect to the craftsjordsmiship in the home, and that you are glad your host was sculpted by the ancestor-deities.
Common Taboos
It is a taboo to touch or grasp a Khasza's feeler, as they are considered extensions of the mind. Grasping one is the equivalent of saying they lack a brain, or are a simple unevolved creature - "there is no extension of your mind in here", or that their mind "doesn't reach outside of your skull".
Common Myths and Legends
Stemming from their Bergar Folkheritage, they believe they are creations of the ancestor-deities, sculpted out of the salt crystals in a Bergar Sanctum deep in the mantle of Eptan, inaccessible to the Khasza. There is a belief that if someone is particularly skilled in crafting or stonework with a specific stone or crystal, that that is the one they themselves were originally sculpted and created from.
Major organizations
The culture is mostly found within the Deephold of Khas'Zar, particularly in the capital, Khasruvgard.
Parent ethnicities
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Related Items
Languages spoken
Related Locations
Comments