Ptema (Tayma)

Ptema are a nation of islands, each formed from ancient volcanoes, some of which are still active. The islands are covered with dark rock and dark sands, similar to the northern beaches of Sudarn. Now the islands funnel fresh lava to the sea, allowing the boundaries to grow with each year, eventually they may join the mainlands.

THE PEOPLE OF PTEMA

PERSONALITY

The people of Ptema take life easy. Island living has it’s perks, the calming waves provided by Waek, and perfect weather most of the year can definitely relax the natives. this was the case until active volcanoes weren’t threatening with erupting at any possible moment. Since the discovery of The Furnace and local Ferrus have carved channels into the island, the danger is no longer an immediate threat, the Ptemians now have the slow rhythm of life that begets their calm nature.
The calm nature contrasts funnily with the almost certainty the Ptemians have that they will be engulfed by flame. They speak with such conviction as if their work terraforming the islands aren’t sufficient. Ptema is a terraformed paradise, and the beauty of such is lost on the natives, the grass is greener on the other side it seems.
The Ptemians are one of the most welcoming people, they love hearing the stories of life outside of their islands. Many travellers will bring little presents of their home to the ptemians as a thank you for their warm hospitality. Most houses will have a keepsake from a traveller they have met on their walks throughout their islands.

HUMOUR

The humour of the Ptemians is extremely sarcastic. To outsiders, it is very difficult to distinguish sometimes when a Ptemian is joking, which makes the natives laugh even harder. As a measure of welcoming, and treating outsiders like locals, the Ptemians like to say wrong facts about the countries the travellers originate from, the discomfort and indignation at some of the statements and how the visitors will try to tell them the truth is a great pasttime for the Ptemians. The first step of being welcomed to the Ptemian family.

RESPECT

The grandmother in a family is generally the most important person, and is always looked after by the children. The Ptemians believe in doing everything eith their elder family members. This gives the elderly an amazing quality of life. Interestingly, although the elders are very important, they don’t dictate the running of the family, once the elders get old enough, they relinquish controls of the family’s affairs to their child. This is part of the belief in Ptema that the children sow the seeds of the future.
The Ptemians give offerings to Jarthi at the site of her volcanoes. This is usually an animal of some sort, but as time has gone on, the locals tend to offer items made with resources left over from the month. These offerings are given so that Jarthi will keep the volcanoes quiet, and should she choose to let their fury loose, they will follow the paths towards waek’s embrace.

TRADITIONS

LAVADOWN

When a person or pet dies in Ptema, a lavadown ceremony takes place. The recently dead is laid in the family home and burning herbs are wafted around the body to prepare it for it’s ascent. Once the body is ready to leave after the family have bode their farewell, it is wrapped in fabric woven with the native red difi flower. Then the family loga will bring the body with a member of the family or more.
As the family ascends the volcano paths to the crater, one person will tell the story of their life to Jarthi, so that she will know them when they enter her home. At the edge of the crater, a final goodbye is given before the body is thrown into the lava. They say if you look at the small plume of flame that erupts when the body hits, you can see the spirit of the passed loved one.
Once the person or people who brought the body to the volcano return, the family will light a fire in the home also and place some of the difi flowers there to commemorate the person and to link the fire in the home to the fire in which they reside with Jarthi until the end of time. The family will make multiple trips to the volcano to honour the dead, usually once a year on the person’s birth day to throw in some of the difi flower and commune with them.

ARCHITECTURE

BUILDING MATERIALS

The Ptemians use volcanic rock a lot in their construction. With trade offering more resources are available from the traders who arrive at the main dock to the south of the island. The beaches along the coast of the Tathi Sea have the most beautiful black sand. Here, the natives use it for making black sand paths throughout the island, which is much softer than the rock that is abundant. This sand keeps the paths warm as the sand is a great heat conductor.

HOUSES

Houses are built with volcanic rock, cut down to make bricks for walls. The houses generally are one level, and exist mostly near the sea short since in land is too much of a potential risk. These houses usually have water readily available from the sea, which is distilled in the home to get fresh water. most houses will have a direct hole to the sea that acts as a bath, the fresh water and salinity keeps the skin clean but without the volcanic mud that keeps the skin soft, the locals would definitely age much quicker.

LAVA CHANNELS

The Ptemians have created grooves for the volcanic flow to run to the see. These start at the top of the volcano, near the crater, and spiral down towards the sea. This was done due to the instability of the volcanoes generations before. As the land grows with the magma hardening at the sea edge, the Ptemians have to inspect the channels after an eruption to make sure there are no blockages at the end which could create walls and spew the magma upwards. The channels are as deep as the height of two people roughly.

Type

Region