The Campaign Builder's Guild

The Ne Merer Swa (Mererven), or Free Humans, are a diverse people freed from the daemonic yoke anywhere from months to more than a hundred years ago. However, the majority share various traits that have been adopted from their old masters or developed alone during their time in slavery.

 Family

As did the Duer after their liberation, many humans have married into and bred into the groups that they spent their time in when enslaved. Some tattoos, originally used to mark ownership, have been redrawn on children to give them a sense of belonging, and although the concept of 'tribes' is not exactly in operation, those who were owned or whose parents were owned by a particular daemon generally hold together and do favours for one another.

This is carried over in many liberated humans' surnames. Many of the less revolutionary humans took surnames such as 'Ne Rames' or 'Ne Hores' - meaning 'of' or 'owned by' Rames or Horus - after gaining their freedom. Although this is frowned upon by some Merer, in some communities it is extremely common - particularly in those that still worship the daemonic gods. Gods' names are also used - for example, the surname Raakh-Ruday literally translates as 'To Raa Given'. Indeed, because of the word order in Mererven, Mezed Raakh-Ruday would translate exactly to 'Mezed gave to Raa'. Sometimes, the full form - Raakh Uz-Rudayna - is used, meaning 'Given To Raa' perfectly correctly, but this is often considered too long and is also a priestly title in some communities.

Amongst T'qetite families, of course, there are many other traditions. Whilst T'qetakh-Ruday is of course a surname, as is T'qetakh Uz-Rudayna, more mundane translations are often favoured, falling into three main categories. Firstly, there are patronymic/matronymic surnames, such as 'Ne Mezed' and 'Ne Rames' (which are essentially the same as the possessive surnames in other communities). Then there are occupational surnames, such as Ne Depet or Mrurdepet ('Of boat', 'Boatman'). Finally, there are descriptive surnames, such as Wur (great) or Wiro (strong).

The strictness of parents and so on obviously depends on the community and individual, but some Mererven-speaking children - and this is mostly unrelated to how strict or flexible their parents are - speak to their parents in the formal Mererven, using the 'Na' particle. Parents may also speak to their children in this manner.

Dress

Dress is another factor that changes from place to place. Although some humans have adopted local traditions, many still wear togas similar to the daemons, or tunics alike to their slave garb. Some wear golden rings around their wrists, especially those who follow Rames Ne T'qet - supposedly the favoured disciple of the great prince - who writes that 'Uz Kdon Mzodana Ne Merersek Newehokh Uda Ne Nebw Neweh', translating roughly to 'The ropes of slaves must be replaced by ropes of gold' (or literally to something like 'One must replace the ropes of slaves with ropes of gold'). Another common feature amongst T'qetites is the Ne Merer Maabsek, or 'Marks of a Slave', crude tattoos that are done almost in mockery of the daemonic ownership markings and in reverence of T'qet himself. These are frequently done in ash or paint rather than actual ink, and renewed every day, week, or month.  

what kind of population and populatin density are we talking about here?  
Is the clan-like behavior pattern continued into governing?

as freed slaves, how do they view slavery and servitude?  

Quote from: LordVreegwhat kind of population and populatin density are we talking about here?  
Is the clan-like behavior pattern continued into governing?

as freed slaves, how do they view slavery and servitude?  

In the Tandhus isles... into the tens of thousands. Many of them are in servitude or Duer slavery (which normally isn't anywhere near as harsh as Kheprer slavery, generally, because the Duer have honour laws protecting slaves).

Not really. Those who're free generally live in Duer cities anyway, and although there'll probably be leaders they'll go to for advice and will normally follow the 'suggestions' of, they're under the governorship of other species.

It all depends on the person, really. Many of them despise it, particularly those who follow the teachings of T'qet (the one who supposedly started off the revolution) and his disciples. Some of them are happy in Duer slavery, although they probably wouldn't refer to it as 'slavery' as such, and some of them outwardly practice it amongst themselves - generally those who still follow the old daemonic gods.

I like this, you've taken a very interesting idea of a people made up of freed slaves, and explored the idea in enough detail to make it seem vivid, rich and evocative.

Very well done.

Your dedication to language-creation also pays off wonderfully with little things like the naming traditions, which are brilliant. I often find names are where so much fantasy falls down - it either seems like hardly any thought has gone into the names, or too much effort has been made to make them seem "exotic" and "fantasy-ish"

Due to your having a whole linguistic tradition to draw from, your names are exotic, yet also authentic-seeming and realistic.

I admire that approach, whereas mine tends more to be based off what I think sounds good... perhaps a slightly less valid way of going about things, but I feel it gets the job done.

Quote from: KindlingI like this, you've taken a very interesting idea of a people made up of freed slaves, and explored the idea in enough detail to make it seem vivid, rich and evocative.

Very well done.

Your dedication to language-creation also pays off wonderfully with little things like the naming traditions, which are brilliant. I often find names are where so much fantasy falls down - it either seems like hardly any thought has gone into the names, or too much effort has been made to make them seem "exotic" and "fantasy-ish"

Due to your having a whole linguistic tradition to draw from, your names are exotic, yet also authentic-seeming and realistic.

I admire that approach, whereas mine tends more to be based off what I think sounds good... perhaps a slightly less valid way of going about things, but I feel it gets the job done.

Haha. Well, the main reason I create languages (other than just as an exercise in revision) is to keep my translations and names, which are often necessary, consistent. So I'm glad you think that. There are a few other things I need to talk about which I'll probably post on later. :)

Religion

The Ne Merer Swa are generally divided into three groups where religion is concerned - those who follow the Iftkaprer-Ka ('Four Lieutenants of Raa') and Raa, the followers of T'qet-Ta (God-T'qet, as opposed to T'qet, the name used in impartial histories), and those who follow the Duer faith and others, lumped together as the Tatyakh Uz Rdaasek (roughly 'Givers to a foreign god').

T'qet

T'qet-Ta is the god of many thousands of humans, some Khetau and hobgoblins, and a sizable population of elves. His cult arose after his disappearance, but his life was extremely important - he supposedly was the first human to rebel, killing his master with a single blow to the stomach. He then fought his way heroically to freedom through daemons, collecting allies, disciples, and a huge following along the way. After liberating many, many people and leading them to freedom in the Tandhus archipelago, he returned to the Hariij continent, saying only 'Ui  pareh' - I will return. His disciples were the ones to truly make him a god - knowing him first as T'qet-Ka, 'The T'qet', and later as 'T'qet-Ta', 'T'qet The God'. Many are now members of his cult, and follow various different religious leaders. The one most active in the Tandhus isles is Meze Ne Meza, a great orator but a physically unimposing man with no interest in politics or in the affairs of the Duer whatsoever. There are many other religious leaders with large followings, such as Rames Ne Jedak, a human with a thriving, part-Duer flock, and Yakuub Dezak, an example of the extremely rare Duer T'qetite priesthood.

Of course, there are also several people claiming to be T'qet reincarnated or returned. Perhaps the most popular (but still with a relatively small following) is Rdety Ne Mekho, who has 'cast off' his old name and now lives the life of, essentially, a religious traveller, getting food and shelter from those who will accept his story.

Iftkaprer-Ka

The Iftkaprer-Ka, literally 'Four lieutenants' or perhaps 'Four heroes', with a strong implication of servitude to Raa directly, are four extremely famous Kheprer who have ascended to become Raa's 'avatars', spending most of their time as pure essence in the Amenta rather than in dual form as do most daemons. They are like a cross between deities and angels - many pray to them for favours, but their main role is to give out commands from Raa. The four Kaprer-Ka commonly worshipped by humans are Osrez-Ka, Rames-Ka, Horez-Ka and Meres-Ka, although there are supposedly others.

Osrez-Ka is often considered the most important of the Kaprer-Ka, as the first emperor of the Kheprer and uniter of the daemons. In his corrupted form as a human deity, he is often seen as the one who chose to liberate them for his own reasons.

Rames-Ka was Osrez-Ka's successor after his ascent, and was the first one to utilise Horez-Ka's Sebxet gates. He created the planet-spanning empire that was built upon by later emperors, and reigned until he too was chosen to ascend. He is seen by the humans as having laid down, with Horez-Ka, the basis for the creation of the humans.

Horez-Ka created the Sebxet gates and explored their secrets, mapping out planets for Rames-Ka to conquer. Along with Rames-Ka, he is viewed as having laid down the basis for the creation of humans. He ascended after creating the first complete map of the planets, off which cartographers and pilots have worked for thousands of years. He is also considered responsible (partially) for the humans' liberation through

Meres-Ka bred the humans, among other, more disturbing exploits. She is credited with the creation of the blood-binding ritual, the creation of the hobgoblins, and many studies of the retrovirus which transforms and mutates non-daemons into daemons. However, as stated, the final, greatest act of his life before ascension was the creation of the ultimate slave race - or, from the humans' point of view, the true children of Raa.

Furthermore, some of these people worship Raa himself - Raa Fire-Eye, supposedly the eternal foil of the Aeia, chained in the Amenta forever, creator of daemons and dragons. He is seen as the inexorable, colossal force to be feared - the Great Master.

It is not to say, however, that the people who follow the Iftkaprer are daemon sympathisers. Many sects have corrupted them to make them seem more favourable to humans, and almost all of them see T'qet as a great figure - they just do not believe him to be a god. Those who truly worship Raa are often avoided, shunned even, by other members of society.

Tatyakh Uz Rdaasek

Many of the humans have rejected both the Cult of T'qet and their old gods, and instead, turned to new systems of belief - such as Duer ancestor-worship, or the Hariiji Cult of the Dragon. Duer responses to this are mixed, Hariiji ones generally positive, particularly from the Hariij themselves (who are seen as gods by the Cult of the Dragon). Many of these humans have made an effort to learn Sharuss or Hariiji even, sometimes, shunning Mererven. Some have even taken on new names, or Hariijicised/Sharicised their old names - for example, Nebw Ne Depetpet (in literal translation, Gold, of Sky Barges) might be changed into Nebu ZÅ«Å«nemn (Nebu of the Water, Tandhusi Sharuss) or Nebaj Na-Hanaajji (Nebaj of the Sky, Common Hariiji). There are even now a few human Darova, although these are not generally accepted as true Darova by their Duer 'brethren'. A few services to the Ancestors are carried out in Mererven in small communities on Akrok - the large island in the middle of the archipelago, which has not really been colonised to any recognisable degree by the Tandhusi themselves for various reasons - but mostly, local Darova force humans to carry them out in Sharuss.