SHARED: 20 October 2023
UPDATED: 10 February 2024
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One of several worldbuilding posts focused on explaining the culture and inner workings of the major dimensions (Tartarus, [ x ], Aetheria, Darekaeii, the Iron Archs). Some information from the "Comprehensive Timeline (revision)" will be repeated and expanded upon.
EARLY HISTORY
Tartarus, formerly planar world TR-5, was crafted out of the uninhabitable reality plane Boltar, a plane of pure hellfire. Its purpose was to act as a prison dimension for seven powerful mages who revolted against the gods in late Era 4. This revolt followed shortly after the disbanding of the Death Mage Order, which was a result of its own attempted coup against Morsanna. Whereas the Death Mage Order coup was largely a power grab instigated by select members of the Order who thought Morsanna's right to the title of Death was false, exclusionary (i.e. they thought it was unjust that she was the only one allowed to hold the title), and too strict, the revolt of the seven heathen mages was much more than that.
The Seven Heathen Mages (SHM, or "the Seven") were a group of high-ranking former Guild mages who sought to wrest control of [ x ] away from the gods under the premise of "mortal control of mortal affairs." Important context here: the gods at the end of Era 4 had backed out of mortal affairs significantly. The end of Era 3 and the beginning of Era 4 saw the height of their involvement, largely due to the game of technological catch-up the gods had to play to advance mortal society in [ x ]. By the end of Era 4, much of this game of catch-up had been completed, and the gods were content to sit back and be background influences that only acted when called upon (whether that be via prayer, direct petition, devotion, or call for intervention). More than that, the Seven were known for despising pantheistic rule and advocated for the abolishment of the pantheon from mortal affairs entirely, or even its destruction. This would have utterly disrupted the natural order of reality and put mortal existence Off-Balance.
While some of the groups who formed under the Seven had good intentions and even went on to initiate reform in Era 5, most participants in the rebellion started by the Seven were amoral, careless towards sentient rights, and reckless when it came to the preservation of life. This kind of ideology found a convenient home in the anti-Pantheon rebellion, because the Seven ultimately put very little value into the concept of sentient life other than their own. Many followers of their followers were of the belief that if life was what you made of it, why not engage in a little murder (or worse)? Why not do whatever you want?
What's worse, this powerful cohort of Mages had learned how to create sentient life, and they made a point of being careless with their creations' souls and lives. The gods would not stand for this, and the Sevem and their followers were ultimately banished by the Pantheon Guild leaders and High Mage Nathan Shasear from [ x ]'s reality plane to Artificial Planar Void TR-5: modern day Tartarus.
Following their banishment, the gods deemed it acceptable to ignore planar dimensions TR-5 in hopes that ignoring the Seven and their banished cohorts would ultimately lead to their demise.
It did not.
The Seven Heathen Mages became the Seven false deities of early Tartarus. They fashioned their prison world into their empire—or rather, six or seven warring empires. They created the seven sentient races of Tartarus, then called the Laxaans, the Miila, the Tahni, the Herrenics, the Rayani (sub-species: Miiredian, Irosian, Regalian), the Amads, and the Jicas. They crafted rituals, worship rites, and creeds for their creations to follow, and developed their own miniature of the life they believed they once lived: a life of subjugation to cruel, omnipotent gods whose wills could change on a whim. They tamed the Tartarun landscape, learned with riches it had to offer in terms of materials, magic, magical properties, and life forms, and curated it all to their liking.
While the rule of the Seven Deities did not last more than a Tartarun generation (500 years, give or take a century), their immediate successors were mostly other semi-immortal survivors of the banishment. Thus, the ideals and the practices of early post-banishment Tartarus continued until Era 6, during which the citizens of Tartarus, most of whom were three to four generations removed from the first peoples of Tartarus, overthrew the Seven Deities' legacy empire.
The Races of Tartarus
At the point of their creation, there were seven pureblood races of Tartaruns, then called "demons." After the reformation of Era 6, most renamed themselves and reconstructed their cultures, their interactions with one another, and their belief systems to form more cohesive, more honorable, and (above everything else) better society than what their creator's started them off with.
HERRENICS
The Herrenic race is the only one that kept their original species name. Created by Corva Herrei, the Herrenic race wanted so much to spite their creator that they kept their name and made it a point to subvert every exuberantly prideful trait or ideal Corva and her successors instilled in them.
Post-reformation, they remain a very proud people and often suffer from inflated egos or excessive belief in their abilities, but their source of pride is no longer based in their connection to Corva Herrei. Instead, they crafted lives of which they are right to be proud: loud, large families of love and bonding, exceptional craftsmanship skills, skilled defensive fighting abilities and tactical genius. They also broke a key law many of the SHM set in place: "do not intermingle." Following the reformation, the Herrenic race was well-known for intermarrying with the Archdaimens and Tritarans; building exceptional trade relationships with the Middle Tritaran Empire, the Ceretsi/Concubi, and the Magoni peoples; and becoming the interdimensional face of Tartarus.
Herrenics also have a spontaneous relationship with Hellfire, which is both weaker than that of Archdeaimen's/Tritarans and more effective, but also lacking fine control. They take great pride in their friendships as well, and to insult a Herrenic person's friend is akin to insulting a close family member.
IALUANS
The Miila race became the Ialuan race, claimed by Ialu (the goddess of prophecy) herself who personally support the revolt against the Miilan High Courts in Era 6. Ialu and the most Ialuan race are stauch opponents of Dorian Mirrala, and while the capitol of the Ialuan Empire (and later the province of Trivaal, Tartarus) retain the name Mirral, it is similar to the Herrenic practice of keeping their name. It would also have been a pain to change the name of the city, as Mirral was and remains to be on of the largest cities in Tartarus. A wide-cast vote ruled in favor of not changing the name shortly after the rise of the Ialuan Empire, and another vote which occurred shortly after ruled that poorly-crafted images of Dorian Mirrala would be placed at the main entrances to the city with posted encouragements to spit on, deface, or horribly costume them. These were later referred to as "hate shrines" and were taken into practice by the Magoni research centers in Zitraala and the Herrenic-Archdaimen-controlled High Forges. Otherwise, Dorian is not referenced in daily life. If he has to be mentioned, he is referred to by his first name or a derogatory Ialukan derivative with the same feeling with which one discusses a disgusting, irritable third cousin nobody likes ("ugh, Dorian...").
When asked, most Ialuans will say the greatly dislike the man, or feel nothing towards him (in this case, their idea of “nothing” is actually a very cooly tempered feeling of disdain, rage, or intense irritation towards the man. And, if you ask a scholar, they will fix you with either a very pained or very exasperted look and begin to gripe about the sheer lack of intelligence their creator once possessed.
Ialuan culture is primarily comprised of the love of food, the love of family (alongside an uncanny ability to absorb any given person into one's family), and the love of justice. Despite (ugh) Dorian's conception of the Ialuan race being rooted in the concept of apathy and the unironic worship of Arric-vetas (a sub-persona of Arric, god of apathy), the Ialuan race is often characterized by their deep emotional range and cognizance. They have also historically been highly involved in Tartarun political affairs, and have acted as diplomats hundreds of times throughout history. They are exceptional listeners and retainers of information, and are turned to for their general wisdom and their prophetic gifts frequently.
The Ialuan Empire also broke (ugh) Dorian's rule of no intermingling the first chance they got, and notably did so by crowning two lesbians, one pureblood Ialuan and one pureblood Bronzeblood, the first Ialuan Imperial Empresses. (In response to Dorian's intense dislike of nonheterosexual relationships, the Ialuan Empire was also exceptionally queer, as are the remaining province of Trivaal and Ialu's various courts of worship.)
BRONZEBLOODS
The Tahni became known as Bronzebloods following the reformation, and took their name from a since-lost sacred fount in which their blood took on a bronze-like hue. It is said that a minor god to which the Bronzeblood revolutionists paid tribute died protecting them in the last revolt against the Seven Deities' loyalists, and since then, their blood has actually taken on that same sheen once attributed to the fount. In the modern era (E-10), this trait has largely decreased in frequency due to intermarrying, but it is considered good luck, and a direct blessing from the minor deity.
The creator of the Bronzebloods, Julius Tahni, is so despised in southeastern Tartarun culture than his name is whispered only as a curse, and he is mostly only referred to in educational settings. He framed his creations in a creed of apathy, greed, isolation, and perceived superiority. The cold, emotionless persona of pre-reformation Bronzeblood regional culture is something so despised in their communities that they have attempted to, in the millennia since the reformation, created a warm and community-minded culture to replace it.
However, internal disputes and civil unrest have plagued Bronzebloods since their creation, and due to a hereditary dislike of asking for help, distrust of medical professionals, and recurrent mood disorders and high tempers (both of which ultimately compound on each other), peace has often considered an unattainable goal. This only adds to the tension, and is part of the reason Vante, Envari, and Linc remain in strife until modern Era 10.
TRITARANS
The Laxaan race became the Tritaran race post-reformation, and they are noted for being the most hateful towards their creator. Zorian Laxa is seen as an honorless, creedless, cruel warmonger with no respect for the art of war, the thrill of the chase, or moral deliberation (or much else other than himself, really). Laxa attempted to create the most powerful, warlike race in order to one-up Lor Amas, creator of the Archdaimens. Ultimately, he succeeded. The Tritaran race is the most combat-efficient, tactically inclined race of indigenous Tartarun, and everything in their biology played into their success as an empire of warlords.
Post-reformation, the Tritaran race did not switch ideologies and become a race of peaceful monks to spite Laxa. They continued to master the art of war and rub their success in his face. However, they redesigned their entire belief system on which they operated. Instead of prioritizing efficiency as a war machine and enforcing imperialistic control of new territory, they began to prioritize honor, free will, and honesty, all of which they often lacked under Laxan rule. The Tritaran Creed was created: a creed that went beyond the practices of an honorable warrior and extended into consent laws, treatment of sentient people both in and outside of war-time, and familial and intra-familial relationships. Early post-reformation Tritaran culture was characterized by deep community networks, passionate partnerships (which were often secured and bonded through ceremonial combat), and a love for fighting as an art form, an act of defense, and an act of justice. This has carried through to the modern northeastern region of Tartarus, although the number of pureblood Tritarans has shrunken greatly and the practice of the ancient Tritaran creed as been revised and since lost traction (although an idea of it still lies under all of Talkian, Trivaalian, Gelligarian, Morean, and Amasian culture). More modern iterations of the Tritaran creed begin to gain traction in Era 10.
The Tritarans are also well-known for intermingling post-reformation, and fell hard and fast for the Archdaimens and the Ceretsi/Concubi (the running joke is that any good Tartarun will swoon over a skilled fighter. It’s not untrue). Because of their intermarrying and the dilution of pureblood Tritaran genes, the race’s titular three-stage shapeshifting ability has changed forms and become less common in the modern era. However, their customarily high temper is also less common, which most Tartaruns, Tritarans included, will say is a good thing.
CERETSI
The Ceretsi peoples, formerly called the Rayani, are the only ones to have systematically executed the remaining leaders of their creator's dynasty. While the Tritarans are known for continuously treating Zorian Laxa with the most outward disdain, Jor Raya is truly the most hated of all the Seven Heathen Mages. He is considered the most inhumane, jockeying with Zorian Laxa and Julius Tahni and still vastly outperforming them both on the shittyness scale. His supporters and successor were executed publicly during the reformation era, and the man is only spoken about when necessary (primarily in educational settings and/or with extreme vitriol).
Jor Raya was a proponent of segregation of his three subspecies by sex characteristics, be they primary or secondary. He created the Rayan Miiredians to be superior in all respects: intellgience, appearance, eloquence, and seduction. Rayan Irosians were second to them in every way, and were additionally segregated by sex (male, female, and intersex), then ranked within their sex group. Rayan Regalians were created to be little more than show animals, with allegedly inferior intellect, etc. (except for appearance). Miiredians were to be served, Irosians were to act as intermediaries and do the higher work, and Regalians were made to either look pretty or do the dirty work. Mercishan society, which rose up out of the ashes of post-reformation Rayan society, is still unpacking that system in Era 10, largely due to the continued class system of Miiredian-Irosian-Regalian which persisted in the form of a rich ruling class, a struggling middle class split between low-end upper class and high-level lower class (no true middle) until early E-10.
Segregation also persisted in the idea that those with Regalian blood, along with intersex Irosians, were better for little more than being sex slaves. As a result, they remain common targets for sex trafficking, which only persists in Mercisha and in the form of exports to and from Tartarus (all provinces outlawed sexual slavery by Era 7, but the trade still persists, most frequently by traffickers moving people out of Tartarus).
Modern (E-10, 20th-century reform) Ceretsi culture has centered itself around the worship of Cerise (Cirrissin/Cirisi/Cerisan), Virri, and Kireesi, the gods of love, life, and sexual intimacy. Cerise has also been adopted as the patron goddess of healing in Mercisha, characterized by the Cirissin House of Healing based in Mercai. The modern Ceretsi indentity is sourced in the love of physical healing, the pursuit of knowledge, the skill of protection, and the honor of truth. They hold the strictest rules about truth and consent. Mercai houses one of the best universities in the dimension, and the justice system (after the rise of twins Alkaline and Ameria Aviligne to the throne) becomes one of the most efficient and swiftly targets those continue the trafficking of Regalians and Irosians.
However, sex is notably still a big part of (especially Mercishan) Ceretsi culture. Some have even suggested the reclamation of the derogatory term “concubus.” The general idea of consent is also an integral part of every day life, and is applied to nearly all interactions. This, and the common loathing of dishonesty, is another practice that ultimately endeared/endears the Ceretsi peoples and culture to Tritarans.
ARCHDAIMENS
The Amad race become the Archdaimen race post-reformation, and their name choice was also a deliberate “fuck you” to their creator, Lor Amas. Amas made his creations to be the most powerful, most domineering race in Tartarus. He gave them charmspeak abilities, he gave them hypnotizing eyes, and he gave them powerful physiques. He competed with Zorian Laxa to create the most powerful mortal sentient… and failed, because he did not take efficiency into account and made a race whose power level was equivalent to a malnourished-but-exceptionally-good-looking bodybuilder. Laxa, by comparison, created a species with efficient Hellfire powers and access, efficient shapeshifting, and a regulatory temper to cap their powers. Archdaimens, however, can only access Hellfire with extreme focus and in one intense burst, whereas Tritaran control is exceptionally fine and well-balanced. They are also only limited to superficial shapeshifting (eyes, hair color, nail type, horns/horn type), similar to Herrenics and Ceretsi.
Laxa never let Amas forget his failure, and Amas took it out on his creations, creating a society based in envy, isolationist superiority, and competetiveness. In the reformation, the Archdaimen race basically threw out all of it, settled down and stopped grabbing up land and fighting with the Tritarans, and tried to make pureblood Archdaimens extinct—that is to say, they intermarried so much that the population of pureblood Archdaimens is virtually nonexistant. They became scholars, learned their people were exceptional at gyromanipulation, and began splitting technical operation and ownership of the High Forges with other races (named the Herrenics, select Magoni, and Tritarans). They picked up trade and intellectual discussion with the Bronzebloods, which fueled cross-land travel and dispersal, and ultimately became the largest willful diaspora in Tartarus.
Modern Archdaimens are often referred to and perceived as a culture group rather than a genetically-defined race. If you have an ounce of Archdaimen blood and live in the reason, there’s a high chance you are/will be accepted as Archdaimen, and those who are genetically close to being pureblooded will often just… claim people as Archdaimen in a similar way to how Ialuans will randomly claim people they like into their extended family group. This is largely because they like spiting their purist creator, and secondarily because northern Tartarus (historical high-concentration origins of the Archdaimen race) is home to the single most dedicated group of Maikoan (god of trickery) worshippers since the fall of Adreoni.
MAGONI
The Magoni, formerly the Jica race, think their creator has some decent ideas, but was ultimately a fascist, exclusionist, racist asshole whose general opinions on life rendered him a complete failure, regardless of intellect. They saw the Ialuan practice of “hate shrines” and immediately adopted the practice for Grecian Hekta, which endeared them to the Ialuans immensely. The Magoni are largely a race of high-power mages who historically decided to relegate themselves to record-keepers and scholars. They changed their name to honor the old Magoni peoples of the early pre-Great Revival Eras (Eras 2 + 3), and because “jica” is a diminutive word meaning “little mage.” (In Era 10 Tartarus, is it is considered highly offensive to call any Tartarun “jica,” especially Magoni people. The exceptions are the words “ziojic’a” and “bor’jic’a,” which are affectionate terms for ziojic (or Void Magic users) and skilled Light magic artisans (bor'jic) respectively.)
The Magoni have a tendency for being unintentionally aloof, and are regarded as “spacey” and nerdy to the highest degrees. This endears them to many people as friends, but irritates their colleagues (the exception of which are Ialuan scholars, who often space due to minor premonitions, frequent sleep deprivation, and a tendency to daydream). However, most of the time this is due to hereditary racing thoughts, most of which are poured into thinking and overthinking a given historical, records-based, or scholarly interest or occupation.
Magoni are also the most likely group to have naturally brightly color hair and eyes, and often carry traits associated wih ziojics: glowing bones, extremities, eyes, skin, and/or veins.
CLOSING
Tartarus changes exceptionally from its creation to modern Era 10. Its culture groups shift and change with time, and while the established generalization for each race are here for reference and a knowledge base, it should be noted that the interaction between regions and peoples is cross-cultural, and by Era 10 the roles and generalizations described for each race are diversified significantly. This is a highly-celebrated aspect of Tartarun culture, as is mixed heritage, especially in northeastern and mid-southern Tartarus and the High Forges region, Mercai’bas, and western Enzia.
To continue learning about the Tartarun races and deity worship in Tartarus, read "Deity Worship in Tartarus."
To read about the geography and natural features of Tartarus, keep an eye out few new post updates!
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