Zurkali

Overview

The Zurkali are a sapient species native to the continents of Suriima and Thrabad. They are humanoid in form, but with distinct plant-like appearances. Their origin is a guarded secret, and disputed by outsider scholars, but their existence predates the settling of Suriima and Thrabad on those continents. They live in communities known as Groves, the largest of which is Kamoh'Talak'arn (The Cradle of Verdant Beginning). This is regarded as their capital city.

Appearance

Their appearance can vary from purely bark, to covered with leave to entirely made of entwining vines. There seems to be an element of self-realisation with their appearances, the more stripped-back tend to be more stoic with the Zurkali that sport fragrant blooms being more warm in their personality. This is also reflected in their age, with elders showing split or peeling bark, thinning of the foliage or even taking on more autumnal colours. At lot of Zurkali can be difficult to ascertain the gender of off of appearance alone, though some can take on a more distinct male or female form, typically those that have formed a bond with another Zurkali. Suriimese Zurkali living in the rainforests and the savannah-dwelling Thrabadian Zurkali reflect their respective climates in their appearances too.

Life Cycle

Unsurprisingly, Zurkali mating rituals differ somewhat to purely fauna based species. When two Zurkali form what would be considered as a romantic bond, if they haven't done so already, one will become more masculine and one will become more feminine in appearance. Whilst they are plant based, the female of the couple will 'incubate' the 'pollinated' child within their body, like a mammal. Zurkali children aren't so much born, as released from their mother when the incubation process is complete. They will be taught by the Grove's Elders until they are deemed ready to provide a function for the community. During this period they are not allowed to leave the grove unsupervised. This maturation period is typically longer, and less definite, than most other species, at around 25 to 30 years, in order to be officially classed as an adult within the species. An adult Zurkali will serve their Grove for around 100 years before committing to parenthood. They may form a bond with another before this period, however, though rarely is this process rushed and the shift to masculine and feminine can be held until their pollination. This means a distinctly male or female Zurkali is typically older than 125 years old. However, the rare Zurkali that leave the Groves for non-Zurkali civilisation have been observed to take on a male or female form much earlier, and without a bond.

After 1 to 3 children, depending on the needs of the Grove - Groves tend to keep their populations relatively stable - most Zurkali parents are now old enough to be deemed to be Elders and move into education roles, teaching whichever function they used to hold within the Grove. Eventually, if they live long enough and there is a space available, a Zurkali can become a High Elder, a select committee that oversees the management of the Grove. When a Zurkali passes, their soul is considered to be 'returned to the Earth', and after a mourning ceremony, their body is decomposed to follow suit. Whilst there are no graves for Zurkali, a keepsake is maintained and kept within the family's shrine for remembrance ritual purposes.

Culture

Zurkali culture is naturally entwined with the natural world. They believe they come from the forests, specifically from Zoku'ren, one of the Elemental Guardians. Zoku'ren is usually depicted as a garguantuan tree-like humanoid, so the Zurkali consider themselves born in his image. Zoku'ren is the Guardian in charge of calming wild magics on the surface realm, the Guardians combined are viewed as great forces that maintain the natural order of things. As such, the Zurkali doctrines follow suit. In a sense, their lifestyles are not so different to that of the Forest Elves. Innately magical Zurkali are almost always powered by Natural Magic, as opposed to Divine or Arcane Magic. The Zurkali are a very insular community, rarely letting members leave or outsiders in, and are very strict in following their duties in protecting the wild spaces they oversee. This has led to tensions in the past with outsider settlers when they arrived on the continents in which Zurkali dwell.

Zurkali naming conventions tend to evoke a sentiment or an idea, in both their location and personal names. They don't have 'family' names, and their names are one phrase only. In the case of the Calzamara based Hunter Chal'Xotal, their name means 'Sprout who Soothes', as they use spores and soothing aromas to placate their quarries, and put them to sleep if necessary. Zurkali language in general follows suit, leaning largely on sentiment and less on specific words or specific things, which can make it hard to interpret for outsiders. For instance, 'Chal' can mean anything 'young' or 'budding'. In this way, the Zurkali language is similar to the Ancient Dwarven language, whilst sharing the apostrophe usage of Ancient Elven.

History

The history of the Zurkali people before the Age of Discovery is unknown, as they were already present on Suriima and Thrabad when the first explorers landed. The Zurkali are also tight-lipped about their origins, if they even know themselves. Due to the distribution of the Zurkali and the shape of those two continents, it is presumed that they existed before the continents split, whenever that occurred. The Thrabadian Zurkali have gone largely undisturbed in the millennia since, but the Suriimese and the early settlers of what would become the modern day region of The Couvalon Kingdom did come to blows before eventually being settled through discourse and an amendment to The Prism Mandate which saw the inclusion of provisions to protect and respect Zurkali Groves.