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Name: Zanjiani
Region: Outer Rim Territories
System: Dathomir System
Suns: Dormir
Orbital Position: Habital Moon of BABYgnon
Moons: Zanjiani is the habitable moon of the gas giant BABYgnon and believed to be the only habital moon of the jovian planet's 8 other moons.
System Features: Canon 10 planet system
Coordinates: <The X,Y coordinates of the planet and its relative position in them according to the Galaxy Map>
Rotational Period: 39 Hours
Orbital Period: 565 Days
Class: Terrestrial
Atmosphere: Type-I
Climate: Temperate
Primary Terrain:
Native Species:
Population: ~900,000
Major Imports:
Affiliation: N/A
Major Locations:
Culture:
General: The Zanji are a warrior people native to the jungle world Zanjiani. Immersed in a culture of pride, honor, sacrifice and balance the Zanji are very close to their tribal homelands. Tribes are ruled by chieftains whom are often female, a cultural remnant from their long interaction with the Witches of Dathomir thousands of years ago. Though they do not keep slaves based on gender, more primitive tribes throughout Zanjiani still practice slavery, capturing other Zanji from battles or if they wander too close to into their territory. Tribes often have two chieftains, a familial pair, often Male and Female though same sex chieftains are not unheard of or strange to the Zanji as their concept of sexuality is very broad and open. Unless the chief is taken down in a fair duel rule is often passed down the family line. How a tribe lives varies from tribe to tribe and is often dependent on their location on the planet as those that live deep in the jungle often have lived there undisturbed for centuries and thus have roots in their areas. However, tribes in the Badlands, the ancient temple-city ruins are often nomadic as raider tribes of Zanji are merciless and murder and steal on sight. Those that live in the Badlands are trapped between the profitable Inner City, which is surrounded by walls and thrives as its own settlement, and the Bayou, a dangerous swamp where extremely primitive, cannibalistic tribes and Witch Doctors are rumored to live.
Evolved from a Feline species, like most of Dalakia's top predators, family is incredibly important. Children are born with tails and cat-like eyes which both eventually fade away as the child reaches puberty. This is an important ceremony and is never done alone. The ceremony happens at the age of 15 and only occurs on the summer solstice as this is the first time a youth will transform into its Lavi form. The significance of this event ties into their religion and their gods. Artaxias, the god King of their religion takes the form of the Lavi in their art and traditions, thus the belief that their transformation brings them closer to their god is incredibly significant. On the flip side, squandering Artaxias' gift of the Lavi is believed to bring shame in the form of a permanent transformation into the animal form and a loss of what it means to be Zanji. These individuals are cursed with a white pelt and green eyes, the colors of Artaxias' brother, the traitor Saresh. Becoming "Trapped" between worlds also is shameful in that one was forced to ask the Witchdoctors for help and depending on their situation, they may forever be doomed to be unable to hold their family again or provide for their tribe, the ultimate failure.
Hunters by nature, the Zanji sometimes hunt alongside the flora of the forest. Two species in particular are held in high regard in Zanji society: The Ariav; a large, fire breathing, winged feline species rare in the mountains and highlands, and the Leo; a large six legged feline species. While the Ariav are believed to be directly descended from the warrior god king Artaxias and are seen as sacred, the Leo has simply been seen as a worthy rival. It is not uncommon to see Leo kept as hunting companions in tribes in the rain forests of Dalakia, though even these are rarely fully domesticated and are allowed to roam as they please. The Ariav however are seen as a challenge to be approached only to gain the favor of Ataxias for incredibly important events such as the coming of age ceremony. The Ariav is hunted and prepared in a very particular way and served to the chief and those partaking the ceremony first. If the youth return before nightfall a feast is held and the rest of the Ariav is consumed.
Music is also an important part of Zanji religion, specifically the drums are seen as sacred and are seen as the best way to communicate with the gods. Expression through music and dance is integral to worship and social encounters. It is often said that one can learn more about a person from the way they beat the drum or dance upon the earth. Dances and concerts are held for particularly trying births, the coming of age ceremony and at funerals. Sometimes they are held for the birthdays of a Chief's children. Music however is absent in the Bayous where Witchdoctors live and is not allowed to be played there or at night as the trickster god Saresh despises the sound and sends his Dalakian born children, the Scared.
Witchdoctors are Dark Side aligned Zanji who live in solitude and worship the god Saresh and are constantly on a search to gain his favor and bring him from the prison in the stars to the physical realm. They are often powerful force wielders and are both feared and revered as they are the only ones who are said to hold the power to aid in the healing of a Zanji suffering from the Sun's Call disease. Outside of Wtichdoctors there are also the Allayan, Zanji who can "touch the realm of the gods", in other words they are Zanji who use the Force for the good of the tribe and in worship to the gods. They are often powerful warriors and healers and are pivotal in the Zanji tradition. Healers often live in solitude between several tribes. Known as priests, the land around their abode is considered sacred and no fighting is allowed there. They heal men and women of all tribes and are loath to turn anyone away, even a Witchdoctor. This is of course all within the rain forests of Artaxias.
The Badlands, the ruins of what was once part of Jamel, tribes of Zanji roam trying to scrounge up enough valuable salvage to buy their way into the inner city which is the main portion of the ancient ruins. These people have little time to sit upon ceremony and the way they practice religion is much more loose than those Zanji of the forest. The one thing that is consistent is the importance of the 15th Solstice in a Zanji's life. Even if the tribe has nothing a feast will be thrown together and the youth are sent off on their first journey as Lavi. However, the struggle to enter the walls of Jamel is the main driving force behind the migratory Zanji tribes of the Badlands. preyed upon by raiders and other predators not many survive outside. But once within the walls, again the Zanji seem like a different people. A bustling city bordering modernity placed in an ancient city the Zanji of the Jamel proper live in relative safety behind the 30 meter wall that surrounds it. A single starport brings in trade and learning from across the Galaxy as the ancient temples within Jamel are seen as an archaeological gold mine and many of the species of Dalakia have yet to be fully studied, nor has the culture of the Zanji. This brings thousands of explorers and merchants through the temple-city, influencing the Zanji who live there. The Ragga Temple-City, Jacmel, is ruled by a powerful warlord who's clan claims to be descended directly from the first Lavi. This is believed to be true as their Lavi form tends to be larger and stronger than other Zanji.
Religion:There are four major gods within the Zanji religion, known as the Old Gods: Ragga; the all-knowing god of knowledge,Zettalia; the god of fertility and prosperity, Saresh; the trickster and deceiver, and finally Artaxias; the warrior god King. It is taught that these gods did not all come at the same time and they all have their place, even the evil god, Saresh. It is told that the Zanji did not always have the power to t\change into the Lavi. It is told that Ragga, the newest god, is the god that pushed them into the people they are today. Young but still the wisest of the gods, he came on blackwings with the his followers, the Starsisters. It is they that gave the Zanji the gift to touch the realm of the gods, which is their name for the Zanji name for the Force. He and his Starsisters taught the young chiefs how to touch the realm of the gods and taught the gods how to manifest themselves in the physical realm. He also gave the Zanji language. But some chiefs thought it a good idea to take this knowledge and use it for their own gain. They gathered power and attacked the other tribes, leading the Zanji into the bloodiest war it had ever seen. It was here on the Summer Solstice that Artaxias descended upon the physical realm, bringing with him his Pride and granting the Zanji people to touch his power, granting them the power to change into the Lavi. Artaxias and his pride set the forests of the Nightbrothers and Nightsisters ablaze, allowing the newly empowered Lavi to destroy the the Coven of Nightbrothers and Nightsisters. In the end the Coven surrendered to the judgement of the gods.
Artaxias was furious though. Forced to destroy the land he and his wife had worked so hard to build and angered that these Zanji had taken a gift so graciously given and perverted its power he ordered them to death. Artaxias' brother, Saresh however was a jealous brother. He made a deal to free the Coven if they promised to help him overthrow his brother and steal his wife for himself. However, when Saresh was to kill his brother, Layla, the wife of Artaxias sacrificed herself to save her beloved. Devastated that his brother would betray him and kill is lover, Artaxias ripped the wings from his brother's back and swiped him across the jaw, breaking his teeth and cast him into the swamps along with the Coven forever banishing them from the life of the Zanji. On her deathbed, Layla begged her lover to allow Saresh back into their realm. To grant her final wish, Artaxias granted his brother entry, chaining him to the stars so that he would be forced to watch the gods and the Zanji live prosperously. Saresh's bitterness turned to venom and dripped from his broken jaw. These drops created new life on the planet, the Scared. To combat these creatures, Artaxias sent his youngest children back to the physical realm to protect the Zanji from the foul beasts, forced to forever protect and to eternally test the Zanji warriors' mettle as the Ariav.
This is the creation myth of the Zanji as understood by modern tails. Scholars have yet to decipher all of its meaning, but they believe that the Zanji are distantly tied to the Dathomiri people as their language is similar to that of the Dathomiri indigenous peoples. They believe that this story is the ancient meeting between the Dathomiri and Zanji people as even their use of the Force is similar to the Witches of Dathomir. Many of their customs such as a predominantly female dominated rule and opposing uses of this witchcraft, called Voodoo by the Zanji practitioners are too similar to be ignored. The ancient Ragga temple complex within Jamel, which is believed to be the only place the gods can enter the physical realm, is also incredibly similar to ancient constructs found scattered across Dathomir. Interestingly, their god Ragga is described in a similar to the Giant Cycle Owl that is told of in legends in both Dathomiri and Mandalorian cultures. Curiously though, the Cycle Owl is absent from the ecosystem of Dalakia.
Minor Gods
Compared to most of the galaxy, Zanjiani is severely limited in its technological capacity. Because the people and planet had been exploited and their civilization destroyed and rebuilt again and again they have been behind the curb for centuries. Despite this, there is evidence that the people of Zanjiani, the Zanji, were once an advanced civilization. Ruins of an underwater city that shows signs of advanced shield generators and crumbling skyscrapers in the Badlands are a testament to their previous lives. Recently, with the help of various companies and investors, Jamel scientists and engineers have begun to reverse engineer some of the lost technologies, providing unique alternatives to standard technology and interesting, culturally significant creations.
The Zanji of Zanjiani are a warrior people. Of this there is no doubt. However most of their weaponry is primitive: variations of forged blades, makeshift vibro-weapons, spears, bows etc. However inside the gates of Jamel the military police force hold power over who is allowed to own blaster-based weaponry. Black market dealers are common and often trade with the raider groups of the Badlands. Slughtrowers however are common even outside of Jamel.
A culturally significant weapon is the Maijin. The Maijin is an energy-based sword similar in principle to the lightfoil and lightsaber. How they actually work they do not know as the Zanji do not produce these weapons, nor do they purposefully share these weapons with outsiders under normal circumstances. They are a relic from an ancient past and believed to have been a weapon of the gods. Often times raider kings and rich warlords will have obtained them from some black market dealer or archaeologist that found one in the Badlands or deep within the archaeological dig site near the center of Jamel. The White Heart tribe holds many of these weapons in a secret vault and gives them to member s of the guard they deem exceptionally honorable or to the sons of other powerful Tribes to gain their favor. The hilt is made of a heavier metal but the idea is the same. It is believed by most archaeologists that they are left over from when the Witches of Dathomir came to the planet, but this is a hotly debated topic not only because it clashes with the Zanji beliefs but because every single Majin that has been found thus far has had a white blade and only one type of hilt style has been found. An alternate history is that it is some form of primitive lightsaber from an ancient order of warriors from the Zanji's past which would explain why attempts by the Zanji to recreate this technology has always ended in failure as well as the uniformity of the blades. Interestingly enough the Zanji sword fighting style known as Artashir translates beautifully and fluidly with the Maijin which causes many historians to believe that the fighting style was developed originally for the Maijin and when the blades fell out of use it was modified for use with a physical sword.
Transportation within Jamel is mostly land based, primitive gas or fuel cell powered vehicles with very few speeders and skiffs. The White Hearts and a few other strong tribes that live within Jamel are the only people to own starships of modern make, though wrecks of ancient starships and speeders dot the world and are sometimes scavenged and brought back to some standard of life by the locals, but this is rare.
Droids are non-existent outside of Jamel, with one or two protocol droids living within the White Heart's estate.
History: Thousands of years of discovery, exploitation, desertion and rediscovery has left the planet of Zanjiani in an interesting position. Mostly overgrown with scattered ruins of various civilizations, the planet is seen as an archaeological gold mine by scholars all over the galaxy. The most recent civilization to take root on the planet's surface was the Dathomiri witches. Archaeologists pinpoint the time period of the Witches' first arrival to the planet at around 3,000 years ago, leaving arguably the biggest impact on the Zanji and its culture to date. This is not to say the previous cultures' effects are not felt. Because of outside influence, the biodiversity of the planet is incredibly high with species from various planets around the Galaxy.
Despite this, the Zanji religion revolves around a creation myth includes the first documented interaction with the Witches of Dathomir and a mysterious mention of the legendary Giant Cycle Owl, also mentioned in Mandalorian lore. While the Zanji have their own story which some see as allegory and many believe to be literal, archaeologists have discovered that the Witches of Dathomir crash landed on the planet. Stranded, the Witches of Dathomir raided the land with their advanced, albeit stolen, technology and their control over the Force. Along with their rancors and battle mounts they instilled puppet empires throughout the planet, constructing one of the largest Dathomiri structures to date. Believed to be a temple dedicated to the Giant Cycle Owl and other powerful beasts of the planet, the temple was constructed in the ruins of an ancient Zanji city. Ironically the ruins held greater technology than the primitive Zanji or the Dathomiri witches. During this time they bred with the Zanji and taught them their language and their ways which. This would eventually lead to a coup attempt by a sect of the witches who had gone dark and converted a few Zanji to their cause.
The war would drag on for almost a century until a sect of Allyan witches used powerful and ancient shapeshifting magic on powerful force using warriors of the allied Zanji tribes giving them the ability to change at will into an a great beast. Pulling at the genes left over from when the Zanji were a feline species, the witches brought forth their prehistoric form. With this the witches rode the sentient beasts into battle and destroyed the Nightsisters and their Witchdoctors. Over generations the irreversible spell that allowed this transformation would spread throughout the gene pool of the Zanji, making it commonplace and eventually a defining trait of the Zanji. After the war, the witches would use technology found in the ruined city to repair their warships and would leave, fearing further conflict and corruption.
The Zanji since then have used this war as their creation myth. For centuries afterwards tribe after tribe would take the title Warlord and sit upon the throne of the Dathomiri temple. The wars were fought over who had the closest bloodline to the gods who granted them their power. While these struggles continued the Zanji would live on in relatively primitive living conditions.
Modern History:
The Zanji who lived within the temple erected walls to repel invaders and amassed a military force like no other ever assembled on the planet before. The ruler grew too powerful however and began extending her reach throughout Dalakia. Her tyranny would know no bounds. Even sacred spaces were not safe from her greed. Her dynasty ruled for a hundred years and would come crashing down. Her armies destroyed a young man's village. Enraged he vowed revenge. Joining her army by conscription his rage and abilities in the Force would gather him praise and recognition throughout the military and rise up the chain of command. The Empress decided to take the young man as her husband, but he already had a wife who was with child. The Empress did not care for his feelings despite the marriage being sanctioned by her government. Thus he was forced to join her as her personal manservant.
In one of their bouts of pleasure the young man stabbed his Empress with poison from a Kodashi Viper. In a fit of rage she transformed into her Lavi and assaulted the man. It was night under a full moon and so the Empress' pelt was white as snow. Unable to defend against her in his Zanji form he too transformed, cursing himself forever in order to achieve his vengeance. In the end the young man, now forever bound to the body and mind of a beast, slayed the Empress. Word of his victory spread like wildfire. Technically he was now the king, but with him forever trapped as a White Lavi and destined for death a new heir was needed. A woman with child came forward as the wife of the White Lavi who had killed the Tyrant. The nobles searched the records and attempted to assassinate his wife and child, however they were met with resistance and failed the woman and her daughter would become the new ruling tribe and became known as the White Heart Tribe, never reaching further than the city itself. The tribe brought on a Golden Age that would last several hundred years until they made first contact with the Galaxy. Since then the species has seen leaps and bounds in terms of education, culture, military expansion and technology. This boom was so powerful that it reverberated throughout Dalakia. Blasters, while expensive, became a common site in tribal militias, running water and cleaner wells were commonplace among villages and towns, and even speeders and skiffs were beginning to see use just prior to the Gulag Plague.
Because the planet was so remote they saw massive population loss as no humanitarian aid was given or even available. The Zanji nearly saw extinction. The ruling Dynasty was challenged many times but prevailed against every threat. During the period of time known as the Darkness however the tribe fell to another and fell into obscurity. While this tribe was not tyrannical like the Dynasty before the White Heart Dynasty, they were cruel to the Zanji who lived in the city. Disease ran rampant and it seemed like all of the advances they had made in the last few hundred years were going to waste. When the Republic finally came with aid and supplies, Republic sympathizers to the White Heart Dynasty aided the surviving family members to take power once again. Since then the White Hearts have been loved and cherished by the Zanji and they have begun a second period of enlightenment.
Notable PCs: <Native or immigrant player-characters>
Intent: <The purpose and reason for making this planet. Goals for the planet. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!>
Be as descriptive and detailed as desired. Any information that does not fit a category can be added at the end.
Name: Zanjiani
Region: Outer Rim Territories
System: Dathomir System
Suns: Dormir
Orbital Position: Habital Moon of BABYgnon
Moons: Zanjiani is the habitable moon of the gas giant BABYgnon and believed to be the only habital moon of the jovian planet's 8 other moons.
System Features: Canon 10 planet system
Coordinates: <The X,Y coordinates of the planet and its relative position in them according to the Galaxy Map>
Rotational Period: 39 Hours
Orbital Period: 565 Days
Class: Terrestrial
Atmosphere: Type-I
Climate: Temperate
- Sports enough variation to be considered Temperate but much of the planet is covered in Arid savanna
Primary Terrain:
- Main: savanna
- Secondary: Swamp
- Others
- Rainforest
- Snowy Mountains
- Snow Fields {In the mountains}
Native Species:
- Various Hunted and Pest Animals
- ​Rabits
- Wild Boar creature
- Game Bird
- Rats
- Mice
- Bats {Insect Eating}
- Fleas
- Ant-like insects
- Bears
- Chickens
- Canine
- ​Domesticated Dogs
- Wolves
- ​Reptiles/Amphibians/Fish​
- Toads/Frogs
- Fish
- Sharks {In the Oceans}
- River/Sea Monster thing
- Birds
- ​Owls
- Ducks
- Votswana
- ​Felines
- ​Ariav
- Scarred
- Leo
- Lagus
- Cocha
- Pumji
- Zanji Sand Panther
- Zanji​
- Ragga Pecean
- Basic
Population: ~900,000
- 90% Zanji
- 10% Other
Major Imports:
- Foodstuffs
- Education
- Technology
- Culture
- Wood
- Exotic Animals
- Artifacts
- Zanji Musical Culture
- Explorers
Affiliation: N/A
Major Locations:
- Jamel
- The Badlands
- Lentisi Village
- Jamel Port
- Lentisi Port
- Kenata
- Allyan Priest Huts
- Force Nexus: Life Tree
- Size: Area {Tree}
- Intent: To provide cultural locations for the Zanji and other inquisitive minds
- Force Nexus: Saresh's Fang
- Size: Area {Cave tomb deeper within}
- Intent: To provide cultural locations for the Zanji and other inquisitive minds
Culture:
General: The Zanji are a warrior people native to the jungle world Zanjiani. Immersed in a culture of pride, honor, sacrifice and balance the Zanji are very close to their tribal homelands. Tribes are ruled by chieftains whom are often female, a cultural remnant from their long interaction with the Witches of Dathomir thousands of years ago. Though they do not keep slaves based on gender, more primitive tribes throughout Zanjiani still practice slavery, capturing other Zanji from battles or if they wander too close to into their territory. Tribes often have two chieftains, a familial pair, often Male and Female though same sex chieftains are not unheard of or strange to the Zanji as their concept of sexuality is very broad and open. Unless the chief is taken down in a fair duel rule is often passed down the family line. How a tribe lives varies from tribe to tribe and is often dependent on their location on the planet as those that live deep in the jungle often have lived there undisturbed for centuries and thus have roots in their areas. However, tribes in the Badlands, the ancient temple-city ruins are often nomadic as raider tribes of Zanji are merciless and murder and steal on sight. Those that live in the Badlands are trapped between the profitable Inner City, which is surrounded by walls and thrives as its own settlement, and the Bayou, a dangerous swamp where extremely primitive, cannibalistic tribes and Witch Doctors are rumored to live.
Evolved from a Feline species, like most of Dalakia's top predators, family is incredibly important. Children are born with tails and cat-like eyes which both eventually fade away as the child reaches puberty. This is an important ceremony and is never done alone. The ceremony happens at the age of 15 and only occurs on the summer solstice as this is the first time a youth will transform into its Lavi form. The significance of this event ties into their religion and their gods. Artaxias, the god King of their religion takes the form of the Lavi in their art and traditions, thus the belief that their transformation brings them closer to their god is incredibly significant. On the flip side, squandering Artaxias' gift of the Lavi is believed to bring shame in the form of a permanent transformation into the animal form and a loss of what it means to be Zanji. These individuals are cursed with a white pelt and green eyes, the colors of Artaxias' brother, the traitor Saresh. Becoming "Trapped" between worlds also is shameful in that one was forced to ask the Witchdoctors for help and depending on their situation, they may forever be doomed to be unable to hold their family again or provide for their tribe, the ultimate failure.
Hunters by nature, the Zanji sometimes hunt alongside the flora of the forest. Two species in particular are held in high regard in Zanji society: The Ariav; a large, fire breathing, winged feline species rare in the mountains and highlands, and the Leo; a large six legged feline species. While the Ariav are believed to be directly descended from the warrior god king Artaxias and are seen as sacred, the Leo has simply been seen as a worthy rival. It is not uncommon to see Leo kept as hunting companions in tribes in the rain forests of Dalakia, though even these are rarely fully domesticated and are allowed to roam as they please. The Ariav however are seen as a challenge to be approached only to gain the favor of Ataxias for incredibly important events such as the coming of age ceremony. The Ariav is hunted and prepared in a very particular way and served to the chief and those partaking the ceremony first. If the youth return before nightfall a feast is held and the rest of the Ariav is consumed.
Music is also an important part of Zanji religion, specifically the drums are seen as sacred and are seen as the best way to communicate with the gods. Expression through music and dance is integral to worship and social encounters. It is often said that one can learn more about a person from the way they beat the drum or dance upon the earth. Dances and concerts are held for particularly trying births, the coming of age ceremony and at funerals. Sometimes they are held for the birthdays of a Chief's children. Music however is absent in the Bayous where Witchdoctors live and is not allowed to be played there or at night as the trickster god Saresh despises the sound and sends his Dalakian born children, the Scared.
Witchdoctors are Dark Side aligned Zanji who live in solitude and worship the god Saresh and are constantly on a search to gain his favor and bring him from the prison in the stars to the physical realm. They are often powerful force wielders and are both feared and revered as they are the only ones who are said to hold the power to aid in the healing of a Zanji suffering from the Sun's Call disease. Outside of Wtichdoctors there are also the Allayan, Zanji who can "touch the realm of the gods", in other words they are Zanji who use the Force for the good of the tribe and in worship to the gods. They are often powerful warriors and healers and are pivotal in the Zanji tradition. Healers often live in solitude between several tribes. Known as priests, the land around their abode is considered sacred and no fighting is allowed there. They heal men and women of all tribes and are loath to turn anyone away, even a Witchdoctor. This is of course all within the rain forests of Artaxias.
The Badlands, the ruins of what was once part of Jamel, tribes of Zanji roam trying to scrounge up enough valuable salvage to buy their way into the inner city which is the main portion of the ancient ruins. These people have little time to sit upon ceremony and the way they practice religion is much more loose than those Zanji of the forest. The one thing that is consistent is the importance of the 15th Solstice in a Zanji's life. Even if the tribe has nothing a feast will be thrown together and the youth are sent off on their first journey as Lavi. However, the struggle to enter the walls of Jamel is the main driving force behind the migratory Zanji tribes of the Badlands. preyed upon by raiders and other predators not many survive outside. But once within the walls, again the Zanji seem like a different people. A bustling city bordering modernity placed in an ancient city the Zanji of the Jamel proper live in relative safety behind the 30 meter wall that surrounds it. A single starport brings in trade and learning from across the Galaxy as the ancient temples within Jamel are seen as an archaeological gold mine and many of the species of Dalakia have yet to be fully studied, nor has the culture of the Zanji. This brings thousands of explorers and merchants through the temple-city, influencing the Zanji who live there. The Ragga Temple-City, Jacmel, is ruled by a powerful warlord who's clan claims to be descended directly from the first Lavi. This is believed to be true as their Lavi form tends to be larger and stronger than other Zanji.
Religion:There are four major gods within the Zanji religion, known as the Old Gods: Ragga; the all-knowing god of knowledge,Zettalia; the god of fertility and prosperity, Saresh; the trickster and deceiver, and finally Artaxias; the warrior god King. It is taught that these gods did not all come at the same time and they all have their place, even the evil god, Saresh. It is told that the Zanji did not always have the power to t\change into the Lavi. It is told that Ragga, the newest god, is the god that pushed them into the people they are today. Young but still the wisest of the gods, he came on blackwings with the his followers, the Starsisters. It is they that gave the Zanji the gift to touch the realm of the gods, which is their name for the Zanji name for the Force. He and his Starsisters taught the young chiefs how to touch the realm of the gods and taught the gods how to manifest themselves in the physical realm. He also gave the Zanji language. But some chiefs thought it a good idea to take this knowledge and use it for their own gain. They gathered power and attacked the other tribes, leading the Zanji into the bloodiest war it had ever seen. It was here on the Summer Solstice that Artaxias descended upon the physical realm, bringing with him his Pride and granting the Zanji people to touch his power, granting them the power to change into the Lavi. Artaxias and his pride set the forests of the Nightbrothers and Nightsisters ablaze, allowing the newly empowered Lavi to destroy the the Coven of Nightbrothers and Nightsisters. In the end the Coven surrendered to the judgement of the gods.
Artaxias was furious though. Forced to destroy the land he and his wife had worked so hard to build and angered that these Zanji had taken a gift so graciously given and perverted its power he ordered them to death. Artaxias' brother, Saresh however was a jealous brother. He made a deal to free the Coven if they promised to help him overthrow his brother and steal his wife for himself. However, when Saresh was to kill his brother, Layla, the wife of Artaxias sacrificed herself to save her beloved. Devastated that his brother would betray him and kill is lover, Artaxias ripped the wings from his brother's back and swiped him across the jaw, breaking his teeth and cast him into the swamps along with the Coven forever banishing them from the life of the Zanji. On her deathbed, Layla begged her lover to allow Saresh back into their realm. To grant her final wish, Artaxias granted his brother entry, chaining him to the stars so that he would be forced to watch the gods and the Zanji live prosperously. Saresh's bitterness turned to venom and dripped from his broken jaw. These drops created new life on the planet, the Scared. To combat these creatures, Artaxias sent his youngest children back to the physical realm to protect the Zanji from the foul beasts, forced to forever protect and to eternally test the Zanji warriors' mettle as the Ariav.
This is the creation myth of the Zanji as understood by modern tails. Scholars have yet to decipher all of its meaning, but they believe that the Zanji are distantly tied to the Dathomiri people as their language is similar to that of the Dathomiri indigenous peoples. They believe that this story is the ancient meeting between the Dathomiri and Zanji people as even their use of the Force is similar to the Witches of Dathomir. Many of their customs such as a predominantly female dominated rule and opposing uses of this witchcraft, called Voodoo by the Zanji practitioners are too similar to be ignored. The ancient Ragga temple complex within Jamel, which is believed to be the only place the gods can enter the physical realm, is also incredibly similar to ancient constructs found scattered across Dathomir. Interestingly, their god Ragga is described in a similar to the Giant Cycle Owl that is told of in legends in both Dathomiri and Mandalorian cultures. Curiously though, the Cycle Owl is absent from the ecosystem of Dalakia.
Minor Gods
- God and Goddes of the Hunt, Zaiha and Zariah: Husband and wife the pair were a Starsister and her chosen groom who arrived alongside Ragga and thus both of Zanji form. Zaiha however was tricked by Saresh, forever trapping him in the body of a Cocha. Together the lovers hunt for the Greater Gods. The Zanji sacrifice small game and hold totems like claws from the world's many big cats to gain favor and safety while on the hunt. Zaiha is a Starsister brought by Ragga and acts as his adviser.
- Tuka, Artaxias' most trusted adviser: Appearing to mortals as an armored Lagus, he is a fierce warrior and minor god of wisdom. Chieftains often keep Lagus in their company as they are fiercely loyal and believed to grant mystical powers of precognition.
- God of Death, Shinn: Shinn is a minor god who takes the spectral form of Zanjiani's many big cats. It is generally believed that while he is considered a minor god he is the most powerful and oldest of all and thus both respected and feared by man and god alike. It is also debated weather or not he is the sire of Delakia and the Old Gods. He comes to the mortal world to reap the souls of the dead and guide them into the afterlife, unless of course one has committed evil deeds in their lifetime in which case he will drag them into Hecret's hunting grounds where they are hunted, eaten and killed for an eternity.
- Hecret: Hecret is a minor god of the afterlife. He is a Halfing who along with Saresh betrayed Artaxias and the other gods. As a thank you for his betrayal Saresh granted Hecret the power of a demigod. His and his followers' punishment was to be cast into oblivion where he began to make his home. From then on evil doers and Witchdoctors were cast into that realm for Hecret and his followers to kill and punish as atonement for their betrayal.
- Lasirenn, Ezili, and Danto: Three beings of fluid gender, Minor gods are the queens of the different bodies of water. Lasirenn dominates all lakes and ponds, Ezili, the oceans, and Danto the streams and rivers. Together they rule over a mystical kingdom deep beneath the waves. Half fish and half Zanji the three sirens lure men and women to their watery grave with sensual songs, sometimes even coming to the shore to seduce their next victim. It is believed that they decide when the great floods of the rainy season will occur and offerings are made to them and their kingdom of half fish people to keep fishermen safe from drowning and to keep the floods from destroying their homes and families.
- Shaunteal, god mother: Considered to be the mother of the Old Gods and mother of Dalakia, Shaunteal is a god of second chances and benevolence. She gave up her power over all when she gave birth to the Old Gods, the four main gods of Zanji tradition. It is debated weather or not the Old Gods and Delakia were of virgin birth or Shinn, the god of death was her lover. Because of this, children born of affairs or out of wedlock are often attributed to the blessing of Shaunteal.
- Seyja: Seyja is the free spirited god of luck and mischief, though his pranks are nowhere near as wicked as Saresh. Often depicted as a man living within the body of a Lavi, he emerges from the maw of the Lavi to speak and trick women and men into laying with him and trick honest Zanji out of their money. Every god has a story of him seducing them at one time or another, even producing bastard children among the Old Gods. He is also blamed for affairs that result in pregnancies and it is believed that children born of his seduction possess a small amount of god-like power.
- Nganga: While not actually a god, she is believed to be the first Witchdoctor and an illusive demigod. She gained immeasurable favor and power from Saresh during his coup attempt. Mistress to the Dark God Saresh, she constantly harasses the Minor and Old gods in a guerrilla-style war. She uses spells to control minor gods with her most famous attack being when she kidnapped Zariah and used her spells to control Zaiha, raiding and destroying the gods' storehouses and Zanji villages. Witchdoctors and Cannibals look to her for guidance when they fear Saresh cannot hear them. She is also considered one of the three Dark Gods.
Compared to most of the galaxy, Zanjiani is severely limited in its technological capacity. Because the people and planet had been exploited and their civilization destroyed and rebuilt again and again they have been behind the curb for centuries. Despite this, there is evidence that the people of Zanjiani, the Zanji, were once an advanced civilization. Ruins of an underwater city that shows signs of advanced shield generators and crumbling skyscrapers in the Badlands are a testament to their previous lives. Recently, with the help of various companies and investors, Jamel scientists and engineers have begun to reverse engineer some of the lost technologies, providing unique alternatives to standard technology and interesting, culturally significant creations.
The Zanji of Zanjiani are a warrior people. Of this there is no doubt. However most of their weaponry is primitive: variations of forged blades, makeshift vibro-weapons, spears, bows etc. However inside the gates of Jamel the military police force hold power over who is allowed to own blaster-based weaponry. Black market dealers are common and often trade with the raider groups of the Badlands. Slughtrowers however are common even outside of Jamel.
A culturally significant weapon is the Maijin. The Maijin is an energy-based sword similar in principle to the lightfoil and lightsaber. How they actually work they do not know as the Zanji do not produce these weapons, nor do they purposefully share these weapons with outsiders under normal circumstances. They are a relic from an ancient past and believed to have been a weapon of the gods. Often times raider kings and rich warlords will have obtained them from some black market dealer or archaeologist that found one in the Badlands or deep within the archaeological dig site near the center of Jamel. The White Heart tribe holds many of these weapons in a secret vault and gives them to member s of the guard they deem exceptionally honorable or to the sons of other powerful Tribes to gain their favor. The hilt is made of a heavier metal but the idea is the same. It is believed by most archaeologists that they are left over from when the Witches of Dathomir came to the planet, but this is a hotly debated topic not only because it clashes with the Zanji beliefs but because every single Majin that has been found thus far has had a white blade and only one type of hilt style has been found. An alternate history is that it is some form of primitive lightsaber from an ancient order of warriors from the Zanji's past which would explain why attempts by the Zanji to recreate this technology has always ended in failure as well as the uniformity of the blades. Interestingly enough the Zanji sword fighting style known as Artashir translates beautifully and fluidly with the Maijin which causes many historians to believe that the fighting style was developed originally for the Maijin and when the blades fell out of use it was modified for use with a physical sword.
Transportation within Jamel is mostly land based, primitive gas or fuel cell powered vehicles with very few speeders and skiffs. The White Hearts and a few other strong tribes that live within Jamel are the only people to own starships of modern make, though wrecks of ancient starships and speeders dot the world and are sometimes scavenged and brought back to some standard of life by the locals, but this is rare.
Droids are non-existent outside of Jamel, with one or two protocol droids living within the White Heart's estate.
History: Thousands of years of discovery, exploitation, desertion and rediscovery has left the planet of Zanjiani in an interesting position. Mostly overgrown with scattered ruins of various civilizations, the planet is seen as an archaeological gold mine by scholars all over the galaxy. The most recent civilization to take root on the planet's surface was the Dathomiri witches. Archaeologists pinpoint the time period of the Witches' first arrival to the planet at around 3,000 years ago, leaving arguably the biggest impact on the Zanji and its culture to date. This is not to say the previous cultures' effects are not felt. Because of outside influence, the biodiversity of the planet is incredibly high with species from various planets around the Galaxy.
Despite this, the Zanji religion revolves around a creation myth includes the first documented interaction with the Witches of Dathomir and a mysterious mention of the legendary Giant Cycle Owl, also mentioned in Mandalorian lore. While the Zanji have their own story which some see as allegory and many believe to be literal, archaeologists have discovered that the Witches of Dathomir crash landed on the planet. Stranded, the Witches of Dathomir raided the land with their advanced, albeit stolen, technology and their control over the Force. Along with their rancors and battle mounts they instilled puppet empires throughout the planet, constructing one of the largest Dathomiri structures to date. Believed to be a temple dedicated to the Giant Cycle Owl and other powerful beasts of the planet, the temple was constructed in the ruins of an ancient Zanji city. Ironically the ruins held greater technology than the primitive Zanji or the Dathomiri witches. During this time they bred with the Zanji and taught them their language and their ways which. This would eventually lead to a coup attempt by a sect of the witches who had gone dark and converted a few Zanji to their cause.
The war would drag on for almost a century until a sect of Allyan witches used powerful and ancient shapeshifting magic on powerful force using warriors of the allied Zanji tribes giving them the ability to change at will into an a great beast. Pulling at the genes left over from when the Zanji were a feline species, the witches brought forth their prehistoric form. With this the witches rode the sentient beasts into battle and destroyed the Nightsisters and their Witchdoctors. Over generations the irreversible spell that allowed this transformation would spread throughout the gene pool of the Zanji, making it commonplace and eventually a defining trait of the Zanji. After the war, the witches would use technology found in the ruined city to repair their warships and would leave, fearing further conflict and corruption.
The Zanji since then have used this war as their creation myth. For centuries afterwards tribe after tribe would take the title Warlord and sit upon the throne of the Dathomiri temple. The wars were fought over who had the closest bloodline to the gods who granted them their power. While these struggles continued the Zanji would live on in relatively primitive living conditions.
Modern History:
The Zanji who lived within the temple erected walls to repel invaders and amassed a military force like no other ever assembled on the planet before. The ruler grew too powerful however and began extending her reach throughout Dalakia. Her tyranny would know no bounds. Even sacred spaces were not safe from her greed. Her dynasty ruled for a hundred years and would come crashing down. Her armies destroyed a young man's village. Enraged he vowed revenge. Joining her army by conscription his rage and abilities in the Force would gather him praise and recognition throughout the military and rise up the chain of command. The Empress decided to take the young man as her husband, but he already had a wife who was with child. The Empress did not care for his feelings despite the marriage being sanctioned by her government. Thus he was forced to join her as her personal manservant.
In one of their bouts of pleasure the young man stabbed his Empress with poison from a Kodashi Viper. In a fit of rage she transformed into her Lavi and assaulted the man. It was night under a full moon and so the Empress' pelt was white as snow. Unable to defend against her in his Zanji form he too transformed, cursing himself forever in order to achieve his vengeance. In the end the young man, now forever bound to the body and mind of a beast, slayed the Empress. Word of his victory spread like wildfire. Technically he was now the king, but with him forever trapped as a White Lavi and destined for death a new heir was needed. A woman with child came forward as the wife of the White Lavi who had killed the Tyrant. The nobles searched the records and attempted to assassinate his wife and child, however they were met with resistance and failed the woman and her daughter would become the new ruling tribe and became known as the White Heart Tribe, never reaching further than the city itself. The tribe brought on a Golden Age that would last several hundred years until they made first contact with the Galaxy. Since then the species has seen leaps and bounds in terms of education, culture, military expansion and technology. This boom was so powerful that it reverberated throughout Dalakia. Blasters, while expensive, became a common site in tribal militias, running water and cleaner wells were commonplace among villages and towns, and even speeders and skiffs were beginning to see use just prior to the Gulag Plague.
Because the planet was so remote they saw massive population loss as no humanitarian aid was given or even available. The Zanji nearly saw extinction. The ruling Dynasty was challenged many times but prevailed against every threat. During the period of time known as the Darkness however the tribe fell to another and fell into obscurity. While this tribe was not tyrannical like the Dynasty before the White Heart Dynasty, they were cruel to the Zanji who lived in the city. Disease ran rampant and it seemed like all of the advances they had made in the last few hundred years were going to waste. When the Republic finally came with aid and supplies, Republic sympathizers to the White Heart Dynasty aided the surviving family members to take power once again. Since then the White Hearts have been loved and cherished by the Zanji and they have begun a second period of enlightenment.
Notable PCs: <Native or immigrant player-characters>
Intent: <The purpose and reason for making this planet. Goals for the planet. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!>
