The Dasev

"When you gaze at the border of the Forest, it feels as if the Forest is gazing back at you. And if you are fortunate enough, perhaps you can catch the moment one of the crows is actually a Croxwie in disguise, meaning the Forest was actually watching you..."

Corporal Austin Grouse, 6th Mithambian Constabulary, 2 Precinct

The Dasev are an offshoot of the Croxwie ethnic group, having long been isolated in the "impassable" regions of the Forest of Dasev. They are a rare sighting due to their insular nature, and are considered a myth in of themselves.
First starting out from the original "academy" that was founded by Marhas Dasev in 472, the Dasev now number at least 2,500 individuals, spread out throughout the borders of the Forest. Having been altered by constant exposure to the Forest's abnormal Ether constitution, the Dasev not only consist of the original 300 disciples of Marhas, but include the ranks of younger Croxwie with no other place to call home, for the Forest instinctively does not attack the Croxwie.
Despite their rarity and isolated nature, the Dasev are counted among the many ethnic groups that call the Kingdom of Mithambe home.

Origins

The first Dasev descended from the original students and disciples of Marhas Dasev, in the days before the Grand Working that sacrificed Dasev's physical form and transfigured the Forest into its current form. From varied backgrounds, they all had one thing in common - they were Croxwie, all of them from bloodlines blessed by Amarise, and gathered under the banner of Marhas Dasev to master the intricacies of their avian forms.
In 472, an anti-magical expedition led by Sir Brightley of the Duchy of Armais encroached upon the forest, intent on bringing the "cursed blood of therianthropy" to torch. Guided by a Fate Scroll given to him by a yet nameless merchant, Sir Brightley saw what would be the forest wreathed in black flames when a drop of Marhas Dasev's blood was dropped onto the divine tool. Seeing this as providence that his crusaders would be victorious, they marched forth, their swords butchering the wildlife and their torches setting the grand ironwoods aflame.
Unknown to Brightley, Marhas immediately felt the skeins of his own fate being called upon, and his enhanced senses from his prolonged age could pinpoint not only the interlopers that sought to kill him and his kind, but also the "cursed" divine object that would seal their fates. Urging his students and disciples to flee to safety as the sun descended, the wrathful Marhas strode towards the crusaders' camp, intent on demonstrating their insignificance and their folly by daring to interfere with his fate.
The battle that occurred would go down in the annals of their history as miserably one-sided, as Marhas demonstrated no measure of mercy or restraint as he fell upon the camp. Tendrils of oily black smoke from his transitioning form rolled off of him, and the prodigious levels of mana could be felt like a sun illuminating a dark sky, as he unleashed levels of magical destruction untold.

Brightley of Armais could only gaze in absolute disbelief as the fires of vengeance raged around him and his encampment. There was to be no escape - as if the Forest itself conspired with the flames to trap these holy warriors and consign them to a messy and undignified death in the hellfire, or in the infernal maw that stood before him. Not two paces away, his squire Emil was on the ground, screaming as the black flames ate away at his flesh without searing it, leaving horrific burns that would not stop bleeding...

The Forest of False Heaven

Unknown to Marhas, his subsequent releases of power not only destroyed his body, but slowly altered the forest itself, as the grudges of the trees and animals put to an unrighteous sword resonated with his desire for vengeance. This vengeance flowed, even as he crushed Brightley's armored head within his helmet and conjured white hot flames to destroy the Fate Scroll that led these louts into the forest.
When the day broke, no sight of Marhas Dasev, Brightley of Armais, or the Crusaders that followed him remained, but the students and disciples of Dasev could not deny the strength and purity of the mana that Marhas released in his final moments. As if enthralled to such power, they continued to live among the now altered forest, even as they and the Forest itself cut themselves off from the world at large.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Common feminine names include:

• Anais
• Casei
• Kitane
• Misal
• Sefi

Masculine names

Common masculine names include:

• Amair
• Cales
• Justil
• Katro
• Seir

Unisex names

Common unisex names include:

• Arcas
• Ilias

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Most Dasevians who practice the ethereal will have a basic understanding of the Amarian Vulgate runescipt. Greater Dasevians, including the Druids and the Everwatchers, are familiar with both the Amarian Vulgate and their own derivative of the system, the Amarian-Marhas Runescript.
Owing to their dual nature as avian therianthropes, most Dasev are also versed in birdspeak, and are able to effectively communicate to each other and to nature through a series of chirps, caws, and whistles.

Average technological level

Despite their insular nature, they are considered at least on par with the rest of Mithambe, as individual Dasev will occasionally leave the boundaries of the Forest and enter other settlements for trade or supplies.

Common Etiquette rules

It is expected for a Dasev to share with their fellows, and for their fellows to offer goods in return.

Art & Architecture

Modern Dasevian architecture falls in line with most of the Jacobean style architecture that is found throughout Mithambe, although most Dasevian households are far and in-between. Their houses are also not as pronounced, rarely being taller than one story, and remaining on the smaller side in terms on area.
Dasevian art is primarily found in crafts and in certain painting that can be found as collector's items throughout Vinesia. Paintings include particular ethereal scenes that may have been witnessed in the Forest of Dasev, with the painting laced with hidden Amarian runes to enhance the effect.

Funerary and Memorial customs

When a fellow Croxwie dies within the boundaries, regardless if they are a Dasev or not, the entire Forest mourns their passing. The body of the deceased is brought before the greater assembly, and annointed with various spices and herbs, before consigned to the pyre. The black smoke that ascends is treated as their final flight, as they are now free from the bondage of their mortality.

Ideals

Relationship Ideals

The Dasev are monogamous, and a pair will remain as such for the rest of their lives. It is common for the bereaved to never take another lover or partner, and it is also common for the bereaved to die shortly after the death of their lover, consumed by despair and succumbing to a broken heart.

Major organizations

The only major organization shared among the Dasev would be the Library of Marhas, where the collective history, research, and arcane studies of Marhas Dasev and his disciples is kept and constantly being worked on.

Parent ethnicities

• Croxwie

Languages spoken

• The Amarian Vulgate

Related Locations

• The Forest of Dasev