The Resourceful people of Soom-Shida

Waste not.

If it can't be fixed, you find another use for it. Nothing is disposed of here, not if we can help it.

— Citizen of Soom-Shida

The people of Soom-Shida live in north-eastern Hansun, where mountains are built of sheer cliff walls, and screaming winds make life and travel difficult. Their village lies nestled among the peaks, hidden away where none but the most resourceful may reside. Hardly anything goes to waste in Soom-Shida -- old buildings are repurposed, food scraps recycled, and broken things remade. If there's an advantage that can be gained, a Soom-Shidan will take it to gain even just a little bit more security in life.

The Slow Decline in Isolation

As the entire country of Hansun grew in size and population, it became more interconnected than ever. Trade routes were introduced, and people began moving from city to city, weaving a web of culture that strengthened the entire country. Soom-Shida, in its isolated location, was seemingly left behind and forced to fend for itself.
Trade routes skipped the difficult to reach settlement, opting instead to connect to other nearby villages that were easier to navigate to. Soom-Shida needed to provide for itself all on its own, something difficult to do among the towering cliffs. Short growing seasons, low populations of animals, and general difficulties of life caused Soom-Shida's population to slowly dwindle. This rate of declining population grew as younger generations also decided to leave the settlement, moving elsewhere where the promise of an easier life proved too enticing to ignore.

by Cristofer Maximilian

Introduction of Catalurgy

Any accident is an opportunity, any failure is the first step of a new journey.

— Soom-Shidan wisdom

When the government of Hansun began looking for places to start its Catalurgist creation programs, Soom-Shida was first in line to offer their services. Gaining favour with the government, as well as serving as the origin point for countless powerful Catalurgists, seemed like the perfect way to gain more power to those that called Soom-Shida home. With the government's promises that Catalurgist creation was safe and easy, what could go wrong?

An excess of bodies, a deficit of limbs

You lost another? What a shame.

I'll grab my tools.

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— Chimeric Acquisitions

The creation of Catalurgists turned out to be incredibly dangerous -- 30% of all operations ended in death, and 10% of those deaths then resulted in the creation of Chimeras. The Chimeras that were created often rampaged and hurt many people before their eventual destruction, thus the injury and death rate quickly skyrocketed within Soom-Shida.
In traditional Soom-Shidan fashion, this chaos and loss provided the perfect ingredients for a new technology and industry that would revitalize the settlement as a whole. While people were repurposing old parts of tools or scrap as basic prosthetics in the beginning, the bodies of slain Chimeras lay unrotted still months after their destruction -- prompting people to consider other options.

Enter the Bone-weavers

With some biologic and mechanical experimentation, Chimeric Limbs were soon created -- taking parts of slain monsters and using them as replacements for limbs lost in the chaos.

My stump still aches -- that never went away. But for the first time since the accident, I can actually feel things with my right hand again. The Bone-weavers are miracle workers.

— Recipient of a new Right Arm

Those who specialized in this industry became known as the Bone-weavers. Usually either a medic or mechanic by trade, with at least a passing knowledge of Catalurgy, they used their skills to repurpose monstrous limbs and give new life to injured people. Word travelled fast, and the Bone-weavers soon became famous -- putting Soom-Shida in the spotlight. Many amputees or injured people began to make their way to Soom-Shida, to visit the Boneweavers and regain lost body parts.

by Amelia Bartlett

A respect for Death

Soom-Shidans for ages have had a close relationship with death, embracing it rather than shying away from the inevitable. The dead were respected -- cemeteries where they were buried became common places to spend time with loved ones. Simple, yet powerful, rituals and customs were formed around death. Most popular were customs regarding Grave Elk, animals drawn to freshly turned earth that were seen as a sign of one's afterlife being blessed.
However, death was common, and the those who were dying often knew their corpses had use. Many on their death bed left behind instructions of re-use, outlining their desire to provide for their community, even after death -- bodies were burned and mixed into fertilizer for crops, mummified and used as macabre warning signs for raiders, or occasionally even used as last resort food reserves when times became tough.

Tourism

In modern times, as national interest in Catalurgy grew, both outsiders and local Soom-Shidans attempted to become Catalurgists. This meaning more locals and visitors began to die within the settlement. Cemetaries saw an increase in use, and breeders of Grave Elk had their animals rented out at a near constant basis.

I went to a funeral over in Soom-Shida last month. The whole funeral procession thing, with those beautiful Elk... I kind of fell in love with it. Been thinking I might want that for myself too, if we can get Grave Elk out here.

— Wishful thinking

Photobash by Stormbril of pictures by Khamkéo Vilaysing and Diana Parkhouse

Chimeric Limbs

Chimeras are strange human-rendling hybrids, full of pain, hate, and terror.
Their bodies contain strange properties -- they never rot, and can corrupt other living things if not treated properly.

Like the CSS you see?

Boneweaver's Creed

A person of any gender, age, nationality or belief may become a Boneweaver -- the only thing that matters is how much they believe in re-use of all things. To a Boneweaver, the ability to grant limbs to those who have lost them far outweighs the risk of the job itself, even disregarding how macabre and unsettling it might be. To them, being a Boneweaver is more than just a job, it's a culture.

Power and Respect

Ask any Soom-Shidan whom they respect the most, and the answer will likely be the Boneweavers. This has granted them a significant amount of power and influence within Soom-Shida, which might help explain why the Catalurgist Creation center has never been shut down, despite the high rate of casualties.

Our country needs Catalurgists.

Our customers need limbs.

— Head Boneweaver

by Hironobu Fukuman

Generational Architecture

Wood decays, stone crumbles, and iron rusts. Soom-Shidans understand this and expect it from the structures that they live and work within -- it's a part of the life of their buildings. There is no abandonment of these buildings -- reinforcements are added, areas are repurposed, and life-spans of the structures are extended.
This gives Soom-Shida a very visible "Patchwork" style of architecture, with materials and styles from across history being present in any giving building.

Re-use and Renovation

It's very uncommon for an entirely new building to be created within Soom-Shida. As the older generations die, the younger ones move in and maintain their newly acquired space. Occassionally, if a family grows faster than the house can handle, additions are constructed and added on to existing structures.

Hand-me-downs

Soom-Shidan winters get cold -- very cold. The tall surrounding mountains block much of the winter sunlight, and the ever present wind rips heat from any body exposed to it for too long. In the summers, that same wind is still present, but now it slings rain at high enough speeds to sting the skin on impact.
To a Soom-Shidan, the most important article of clothing is a good coat. These coats are made of two parts -- one waterproof exterior, intended to shield from the stinging summer rain. The other is a removable inner coat, made of thick fur. These coats are passed down through generations, made to fit any new wearer by adding or removing fabric when needed. Any excess fabric is stored, used as patches should any coat become damaged.

This coat's lineage goes back farther than our own family. I don't care if you don't like it. You're wearing it.

— Stern rebuking of a rebellious youth.

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