2.0 The People

As a people, the Hanaset are proud and confident, and largely this is tempered by humility. Respect is given equally for strength, skill, courage or knowlage. They are not bound by spirituality - they live mostly in the here and now and do not concern themselves overmuch on spirituality. They are not athestic however - each tribe has at least one physical totem of divinity that they see at least a few times of the year. As such they are firmly convinced of the existence of the divine.

2.1 Tribal Societies

The Hanaset people are divided into five tribes - Husenalu, Ramenalu, Zeranalu, Serinalu and Maletanalu. Of these, the first four are considered 'proper' hanaset, and the 5th tribe, Maletanalu is treated as a pariah by the others. The cause of this disconnect is the 5ths tribe's reverence of Malitazum.

2.1.1 HusenaluThe Husenalu is the second largest Hanaset tribe, only the Maletanalu are larger. They consider themselves to be the favorites of Lutazum and many of the tribe are related to the great Hatumah. The Tortise is a very common theme through all of these people's artifacts, more so then any of the other tribes. They are the most diciplined in combat of the hanaset, partly from their frequent battles with the Maletanalu. Woven plant fiber is the source of most Husenalu clothing, Ralu fiber being reserved for their higher-status members. Stone-tipped spears, bladed clubs, nets and shields are their most common weapons, along with ornately carved throwing clubs.

2.1.2 Ramenalu Sequestered in the most densely forested area, the Ramenalu have the best hunters and the fewest livestock. They are also the most shy tribe and have well hidden villages within the tree tops. They have no real interest in outsiders, and unless pressed by circumstances will not reveal their presence to intruders. Ramenalu are all expert treeclimbers and typically bear only small weapons and no armor. They also have exceptional knowlege among the Hanaset of the use of medicinal plants.

2.1.3 Zeranalu The Zeranalu are the Ralu masters amoung the hanaset - they have bred varieties of the beast that they jealously hold back from the other tribes. This has lead to violence from time to time, as other tribes seek to steal some of their prized beasts. The Ralu plays an central part of Zeranalu culture - it being the source of most of their goods. Clothing is universally composed of fine ralu-quill fiber that is skillfully dyed and woven into ornate patterns. Common weapons with Zeranalu are winged-spears and blowguns shooting poisoned Ralu-quills.

2.1.4 Serinalu Withing the Hanaset lands lie the ruins of an ancient stone city of some lost race older then man. The Serinalu inhabit the above-ground structures and have carefully walled up any entry below ground. The elder serinalu may know why, but there is a taboo about speaking of it, and definately against breaking any of the seals. They hold this taboo so strongly that they will resort to violence to prevent any entry, regardless of the reason. The Serinalu have cultivated a tree that produces a cotton-like fiber that they use extensively for clothing and most closely resembles that of other civilizations. They also have a propensity towards facial tattoos made from irridescent dyes unique to their region. Fine stone axes,spears and hammers are their preferred weapons, tipped with excellent obsidian and surgically sharp.

2.1.5 Maletanalu The Maletanalu are unique amoung the hanset tribes for their reverence of Malitazum, brother and rival spirit to Lutazum. They are the most xenophobic and agressive of the tribes, and are often at war with their neighbors. They might deal with their rival tribes civilly from time to time, but they are at best dreadfully rude and abusive towards any outsiders. At worst they are homicidal and seek to present any intruders to Maletanalu as food. Maletanalu typically wear leather sourced from the crocodiles that frequent their swampy homeland. Most artifacts and weapons bear reptilian - mostly crocodilian - motifes. A club studded with teeth is their tribal weapon, though shortbows are also a popular weapon.

2.2 Hanaset Zodiac and the Totems

The Hanset revere a number of totems of greater and lesser power, animals of mystical power and origin. Of the totems, two hold the greatest status - Malitazum and Lutazum. Both Malitazum and Lutazum are powerhouses of mystical power, Lutazum the incarnation of Hutamah the One Chief, and Malitazum, the remnant of the Vile Shaman. Both dwell physically in the Hanaset lands and are constant reminders of the powers of the Gods. Lutazum is typically associated with the summer solstice, while Malitazum is associated with the Winter solstice. The remainder of their Zodiac is as follows:

Talamu the Quick - A Ralu gifted with the ability to become invisible.

Visalu the Stoneeater - A Musalu - a type of venomous beetle whose larva are used for food. Visalu is by legend nearly the size of Lutazum, but has never been seen. His venom has been said to be so strong, that it will melt stone.

Mutaru - A fresh-water sunfish. Malitazum is always seeking to eat this brilliant fish, but she has always managed to evade him, usually in very embarrassing ways. She is a trickster image.

Rutanalu - A Wood-dwarf, a mythical being native to the Hanaset lands, but never seen. Said to be the builder of the stone city that the Serinalu dwell in.

Letumalu - A bird of paradise. Letumalu is a figure of both beauty and greed, and is said to have a vast nest of woven gold.

Timalenu - A large Squirrel. Timalenu is an unlikely figure of great wisdom and intelligence and has a taste for Hanaset foods.

Valulamu - A grey Elephant. Valulamu is at times patient and wise, but is struck by fits of anger and rage and is nearly as dangerous as Malitazum. Often subject to machinations of Mutaru the sunfish.

Mesalu The Weaver - A Mesulu monkey. Known for her craftsmanship and weaving skill, she is said to have taught the hanaset much of their woodcraft. She is forever stalking Talamu to steal his quills for her projects.

Tululu - A great mobile tree. This tree has never been seen by the Hanaset, but is said to dwell in the deepest parts of the forest. He acts as a mediator among the other totems and attempts to settle their differences.

Mufulu - A frog with chameleon-like abilities, he is known for his ability to sing and to sound like anything he chooses. Also associated with good luck, he is a common motif in household items.

2.3 Combat, Honor and War

Although normally peaceful, conflicts and raids do occur between all of the Hanaset tribes. All out war has not occured for centuries, due primarily to the common reference for Lutazum and the Hanaset dieties. With a realtively strong relationship between the four tribes, the 5th tribe will not engage in a true war either, aware that the other four tribes would band together to defeat them, or any other external threat for that matter.

Hanaset weapons are usually devoid of metal, what metal they have being used for tools. This does not mean their weapons are ineffective - they have excellent knowlege of the materials they have and use magic to suppliment the natural materials. In general they use bone and obsidian tipped spears, as well as blowguns, slings, bows and arrows, along with edged clubs.

The Hanaset rarely if ever use armor - their climate and materials tends to restrict this. What armor they have is generally woven Ralu quill carefully reinforced to provide equivilent protection to hard leather.

2.4) Literacy and Language

The Hanaset are a literate people, but they generally do not exercise this day to day. Written documents are used primarily for record keeping and inter-village communication. The Hanaset have two written languages - they have a cunifrom language used primarily with clay tablets, though they also use it seared into leather using heated metal dies. This langauge is a holdover from their empirial era and is used primarily by the Hanaset shamans to refer to the ancient works of that era. It also is used for village records, wills and similar official documents. The second, most commonly written langauge uses a combination of colored beads and ornate knotwork tied into Ralu fibre cord. It is used primarily for 'letters' sent between the hanaset tribes, usualy carried by Lutazum the Tortoise. Generally the beads used are color-fast so that these documents can remain legible for a great deal of time afterward. The most important concepts are depicted with beads, the subtle concepts, punctuation are carried via knotwork. As a result, even when the fibre rots away, it may be possible to decypher old works via the order and location of beads, assuming the beads are undisturbed.

Spoken Language of the Hanaset

The Hanaset language consists exclusively of Consonant/vowel/Consonant and Consonant/vowel forms. Take for example the name of the people itself: Hanaset - People(et) of Hanas

Other words: Hutumah - Proper name

Lutazum - Proper name

Letasur - Green Kingdom

Leta - Green Sur - Kingdom

Tili - Small Ralu - Common domestic animal, source of foodstuffs and fiber.

Ralutulu,Ralusalu,Raluhilu - Different breeds of Ralu

Tul - Meat

Sal - Quill

Hil - Musk

Velasu - Ritual Combat

Musalu - Large beetle, venomous.

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Pronouns

The Hanaset have 3 levels of pronouns used to describe social acceptance of the subject. They have subhuman (or outsider), human and superhuman(spirits, gods, kings, etc). To refer to a Hanaset using the subhuman pronouns is a deadly insult.

Pronoun Human Me Nal We Nalu You Mal You(plural) Malu He Tal She Val It Ral It(Plural) Ralu They Salu Pronoun Superhuman Me Nas We Nasu You Mas You(plural) Masu He Tas She Vas It Ras It(Plural) Rasu They Sasu Construction of Hanaset Words: Vowel sounds: a,e,i,u Consonants h,l,m,n,r,s,t,v,z

2.5 Magic and Technology

The Hanaset War-shamans are the most effective defenses of the Hanaset, keeping from under the heel of foreign invaders like many stone-age tribes. Strongly tied to nature, but still linked to the powers of the Arcane, they prove deadly foes in their forest home. They are also masters in the art of Entwining. One of their number ranks among the greatest human practitioners in the world - Helematalana. This shamaness bears countless entwined enchantments in her waist-long hair and is protected by a throng of unseen spirits.

Technology

The Hanaset have a extensive library of documents containing most technologies known, but many of these are not used due to the limited resources of their lands, and due to their intent to avoid the problems of their imperial days. This library and its location is never revealed to outsiders. They currently live a stone-age lifestyle, though they do possess some metal implements gained through trade. They do not work or smelt metals themselves (except precious metals) due to excessive fuel requirements. They do not construct many stone structures, due primarily to the relative scarcity of suitable stone in their lands. They have, however, an advanced knowlege of textiles, herbs and animal husbandry. The latter being evidenced by their domestication and breeding of various native animals, expecially the Ralu.

3.0 History of the Hanaset

The Hanaset are an ancient people who have waxed and waned over millenia. At one time, the Hanaset had a great and wide empire and were a highly aggressive and expansionist people. They were a strong and proud people and made glorious war upon their neigbors, carving out their empire and subjegating many peoples. Their empire endured for centuries, and as generally happens, the vitality of the empire waned over time - the people falling into decadance. Only the legendary skill of their warriors held their empire together.

Unfortunately, this too waned, as the noble caste of warriors turned more and more into the persuit of wealth and pleasure, and less towards martial preparedness. The end came when the last of the Hanaset Emperors, NameHere, decided to extend the empire still further over the lands of the Ku!, a primitive but magically powerful tribal people.

The war, which was expected to end quickly, instead became long and drawn out, and served to grind up what was left of the empire's skilled warriors. The many vassel states, historically brutally opressed by the Hanaset took advantage of the Hanaset/Ku! war to unify and rebel against the Hanaset. Weakened by the war, and already strained, the empire collapsed rapidly.

Shortly therafter, the enemies of the Hanaset unified to wage a war of extermination against them, driving the suriviors from their land. After a hazardous migration, the Hanaset made their way to their current land. Forced to move without preparation, they had left behind most items of value and were forced back into a largely stone-age society. For many years the scattered people were disorganized and little more then isolated clans until Hutumah united them briefly into a single nation. After his death, the nation collapsed into six tribes, of which five remain to this day.

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