Nurin
The Sybilline Divinocracy of
Fully named the Sybilline Divinocracy of Nurin or the Sybilline Oligarchy of Nurin, it is a culturally rich nation on the steppes and savannahs of the Voidwest Lorent. Officially vassals to the Jurans, Nurinians are of an ancient and relatively uninterrupted culture with complex theological and philological beliefs. Their clothes and architecture are famously decorated by writings that blur the boundaries between spirituality, alchemy and poetry, giving Nurinian settlements a colourful and motley feel.
Nurin are the official stewards of Colossus Beta (the western tower of the Voidward bridge that crosses the mighty Worldscar), which the Nurinians call Sephulcra. It is one of four surviving towers connecting two surviving bridges, marvels of First Age architecture that could not be replicated today.Geography
Description
See also: Image Gallery: Fashion & Scenery of Nurin (External)Nurin tends to be arid and temperate, with a mixture of continental prairies, savannahs and badlands. The vast, red plateaus that are iconic of Ket, opposite the Worldscar, can also be found on Nurin's western reaches, however they are smaller on the Lorentian side.
Nurinian settlements are generally divided along the secular and spiritual. The latter are always found on sites of First Age ruins, to which the Nurinians—who revere age and deep time above all—hold especially dear. They are always preceded by the prefix Tel. Secular settlements are named after their surrounding geography, for example Duur ("coastal delta"), Kil ("valley") or Kor ("cliff"; cliffside warren-towns, in a similar style to the Kettites).
The major secular settlements of Nurin are as follows:
- The Holy City of Hope (Capital)
- Duur'Eleth
- Duur'Andal
- An'Duur'Zhunel
- Kil'Aurun
- Kor'Valrai
- Sephulcra
The major religious settlements are as follows:
- Tel'Mari
- Tel'Aldurot
- Tel'Emre
- Tel'Airi
Beliefs
The Nurinian “religion” is an odd blend of mental & physical cultivation, polytheistic worship of both Waking & Twilight gods, and a bewildering web of superstitions usually involving art & poetry decorating their clothes, walls, pottery, boats, caravans, cookware, et cetera. They hold the ancient, largely buried ruins of First Age cultures in high spiritual esteem, and as such are exceptional archaeologists with perhaps the deepest knowledge of Antediluvian Materia in the Quadrant.
Nurinian religion is highly intellectualized: debate and reinterpretation of ancient proclamations are permitted and even encouraged in many theological circles. Spirituality is a favourite subject at the Dai'an Assertia: the faculty sometimes occupies entire amphitheatres on its own.The Great Manifest
The primary motif is the “Great Manifest”, usually drawn as a humanoid eye: depending on how open the eye is, it appears analagous to seasonal phases as well as greater “cycles” of reality; patterns that result from the weaving of the present using threads of the future. Nurinians enjoy symmetry and geometry so much that worship of the Duskscape Regent of Glyphs, Secrets and Patterns, Tallari-Anaviri-Irallat, is at its highest on Waking Materia.
Nurinian surnames often come with a prefix denoting which cycle of the Great Manifest their lineage is most aspected to. For example the suffix "En-" (e.g. the En-Ishai or En-Venir tribes) is aspected to water, and therefore appears to refer to periods of rain or flooding. Some lineages are aspected to an element the Nurinians call "the Sun" (e.g. the Sun-Atiel or Sun-Darnai) : it is unknown what this "Sun" is, but it seems to carry connotations of warmth and brightness, and probably refers to periods of increased celestial activity from the Arcane Paraecologies overlying the plane. (Some Juran scholars see similarities between these families' history and First Age cults of Solonn, and believe he might be emblematic of this "Sun".)Rule
Nurin is a 'divinocracy', ruled largely by seers known as The Sybils. The Sybils are a chosen few gifted with “The Sight” (limited precognitive abilities) and trained from a young age to use these gifts in service of Nurin. Though they vary, candidates for the Sybils are usually adept in the divine or arcane arts. Many Sybils are trained in illusionism (what they call "demireality") to conduct elaborate “thought experiments” that empower their prophetic abilities.
The Sybils are diverse in age, from the near 300 year-old eladrin wizard, Telentt Matra-Siluvarat, to the young human oracle Tsalas Elit-Ondra. At only sixteen years old, Ondra is the youngest Sybil in what remains of Nurin’s written history after The Deluge. Beloved for their simple but striking moral treatises, Tsalas is an oracle of Aios (whom the Nurinians call The Divine Circle of Rainbow Light) as well as a talented primal theurge with a fondness for aeromancy.
Culture
With regard to the Gondarans on the other side of the Worldscar, Nurinians lack the political caution of the Kallorians or Jurans and are accepting if not outright welcoming to Gondaran tourism, whereas foreign travelers to Kallor and Jura are usually only merchants or diplomats. The Kallorians take Nurin's aloofness as outright disobedience, but the if the Ruling Juran Conciliat agrees, it has nonetheless not acted. Nurinian art, clothing and craftwork are becoming vogue in several corners of Gondara, especially in Dalmatica.The Salubri
While the Sybils are not a very jealous or even involved government, the Nurinians can be famously capable warriors. The Salubri are elite squadrons usually made up of druids, fighter-wizards and warpriests of Ahm’s Three Swords, Tariel or Kaleva. They are tasked with protecting Nurin’s holy sites, its natural & anthropological wonders, and any Sybils or Elders traveling abroad.
While Nurinians are generally regarded as a laid-back and unflappable people, this does not the case for the Salubri, who take their responsibility with deadly seriousness, seeing themselves as Materia’s protectors. Swift of foot and blade, highly stealthy and adept at destructive elemental magic, they are the bane of poachers, desecrators, and relic thieves in Nurin. They even hunt Duskscape interlopers , taking a role typically held by V'Shaatian Dreadnoughts, Aiosian Baneslayers or Repentants of the Skull Knight. The Salubri are currently lead by Delaat Selmit-Alvatand, a drow-eladrin warpriest of Tariel and one of the most feared spellswords in the Lorent.Architecture
Nurinians are fond of domed/circular, "open concept" architecture, with expansive, one-room yurts, ovular castles and many coliseums/amphitheatres.
It's known for its odd brutalism, combined with the seemingly haphazard addition of plant life everywhere. They build using a modified clay material that actually strengthens with the addition of moisture and acts as a nutrient source for the host plants, allowing the buildings to stay stable despite the slow incursion of roots and vines. As a result Nurinian settlements seem abandoned from a distance, until one is close enough to see the bustle of activity.
Nurin
Quadrant
Gamma
Region
The Lorent, The Broken Empire
Capital
The Holy City of Hope
Illus. Phobso
Music inset: A Nurinian folk song asking Ninalta for good harvests.
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