Ethnicity: Oujeva (The Shadow Flame Keepers)

Cultural Heritage

The Oujeva are the original dark flame stewards of the Tjeva. They taught that flame begins in shadow, that the first spark is born of stillness and night. Their rituals are tied to eclipses, moonfire, and the hidden embers that glow beneath ash. Once honored as equal partners to Khijan and Tsujan, they were later vilified as “hoarders of shadow” when the Council shifted toward light supremacy.

Despite persecution, Oujeva maintained their ancestral ways in secret sanctuaries, keeping alive flame traditions rooted in mystery, patience, and depth.

Shared Customary Codes & Values

• Patience before Action — fire must be felt before released.
• Reverence for Shadow — darkness is not evil, but fertile and protective.
• Memory-Keeping — Oujeva families keep ash-scrolls, recording names of ancestors.
• Balance of Veil and Flame — never separate light from its shadow.

Technological Level

Oujeva excel in shadow-flame technologies: ember-glass lenses that capture faint light, shadow-ink used for hidden writings, and ash-conduits that store heat for months. Their craft tends toward subtle, durable, and hidden applications rather than spectacle.

Common Etiquette

• Greet by offering a hand over the heart, palm covered (symbol of veiled flame).
• Never light a fire without first naming it — Oujeva believe flames have spirits.
• Silence is a sign of respect; speaking too quickly is seen as reckless.
• During eclipse rituals, no direct eye contact is allowed — all eyes must be downcast.

Dress & Appearance

• Dark silks, shadow-blue and ember-purple, trimmed in faint silver.
• Hair often braided with char-threads, glowing faintly with ember beads.
• Cloaks lined with reflective ash-dust that shimmer in moonlight.
• Children wear veiling sashes until their flame-naming ceremony.

Art & Architecture

• Temples carved into cavern walls, with subterranean flame-altars that cast inverted light.
• Architecture uses obsidian, mirrored glass, and shadow-veins to create a dim glow instead of direct brightness.
• Oujeva art focuses on silhouette, shadowplay, and negative space — they invented shadow-theatre and luminous ink painting.

Taboos

• Mocking or denying the existence of shadow.
• Lighting flame during eclipse without ritual sanction.
• Exposing ash-scrolls to uninitiated outsiders.
• Using flame to blind (regarded as corrupting the Sacred Flame).

Geography & Ecology

Oujeva lands are coastal and cavernous, often underground near obsidian cliffs or twilight valleys. Flora includes moonblossoms (night-blooming flowers), ashen kelp, and fungi that glow with ember spores. Fauna include shadow-serpents and ember owls, creatures tied to dim flame.

History

Oujeva were once equal pillars of the Tjeva triad, but when the Council elevated Khijan’s radiance, they were painted as regressive “keepers of darkness.” Many temples were burned, and their people forced into exile. The Oujeva survived in hidden enclaves, preserving their flame in secrecy. Today, they are considered keepers of forbidden knowledge, but among themselves, they see this as guarding the original truth.

Tourism & Pilgrimage

Few outsiders are welcomed. Pilgrims who earn trust may attend Eclipse Vigils, where Oujeva chant flame-hymns in total silence, and sacred embers are passed hand to hand. Those who betray trust are said to carry the “Veil Curse,” where their shadow walks apart from them.

Myths & Legends

• The First Ember — flame born in infinite shadow, nurtured by silence.
• The Veil of Flame — a shadow mantle gifted by Vajra to protect the first Oujeva from burning too brightly.
• The Betrayal of Light — mythic telling of when Khijan turned flame outward, breaking the balance.

Historical Figures

• Tjamor the Veiled Flame — shadow-weaver, preserver of eclipse rites.
• Lunari of the Ash Pools — flame-healer who used moonlit embers to restore fertility.
• Vashur the Hidden — kept the ember-scrolls safe during the Council’s purge.