Zemali / Blissful but Frail

With the exception of their hardened limbs and foreheads, Zemali are a really fragile and delicate people. They live, move and think slowly, because their bodies can’t withstand the prolonged pressure and physical stress that are normal to sistren of other tribes. Even their internal bodily fluids are slow and thick.

Zemali bodies are a synthesis of flesh and fungal trama – the puffy parts are lightweight and squishy-soft on the touch; thick skin isn’t very elastic and is easily damaged physically (but much less so thermally), smooth, covered with very short and soft trichomes, and faintly fluoresces; the skeletal structure of their torso is mostly made up of something similar to cartilage rather than bone; even the nociceptors are simplistic in order to reduce plausible discomfort or pain. The muscles are stiff and tight, but easy to build up and hard to lose mass (though Zemali remain relatively weak compared to other tribes), moreover they have very little fat of any kind in their bodies. On the very good side, Zemali have a strong immune system; few intertribal viruses or parasites are attracted to Zemali, just as wild animals and most insects ignore them, which is attributed to the calming earthy-tomatoe odor; they are virtually invulnerable to long-term low-level emissions and many toxins; and can regenerate tissues in response to injury. Zemali also seem to never be in danger of starvation: during the primal aridification and consecutive famine years, they hibernated, living for years without food, yet were barely active even to think and recognize when the famine season ended.

More than half of the Zemali suffer from vocal cord dysfunction or their complete absence, and those who can still speak are perceived by sistren tribes as monotonous and plane. Since the Zemali initially learn sign and hip languages, they are now used more often in their culture than spoken language, even by kin who do not have vocal cord impairments. Zemali generally not fond of noise (and bright artificial lights), so almost all of them live away from big cities and rely less on recent flashy technologies.

However, their fragile state does not last forever. A process similar to transdifferentiation occurs when Zemali reach elderhood: the skin and bones become harder and stronger, the muscles – denser; they grow larger and heavier; their mindset become belligerent, cruel and competitive. Such Elders can’t be considered weak even by the standards of other tribes. Today, thanks to the all-directional progress and social stability in Meority, Zemali can live more safely and therefore longer than previous generations, thus much more of them survive to become the Elders. There is no known strict limit to how big Zemali can grow, but eventually their bodies shut down when even the Elder’s powerful immune system cannot maintain the progressing internal malfunctions.

Zemali don't bury the bodies of their deceased nor perform funerary rites like other tribes do, partly because the decomposition of their flesh is odorless and dry: the dead is simply laid on the open ground deep in the forest, head against the base of a tree, where the body withers, turning into a brittle papery shell. Therefore, it's important to be careful when traveling, as some thickets you see from afar might actually be Zemalic Cemetery Forests.

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Elderhood, of course, is not the only stage in the life of Zemali when they undergo a transformation: at birth, their leaflings look like cute leafy four-legged caterpillars. After several months of proper feeding, the little body overgrows with even more leaves, which begin to glue together, forming a cocoon. Inside this cocoon, for another month, through metamorphosis, the little Zemali grows proper bones, limbs, and a head, until the old leaves fall off.

Zemali Biology is heavily influenced by the surrounding environment and conditions of growth during childhood. That, the shape of their horns and the color of the leaf-hair depend on the biome in which the Zemali grew up, as well as the developed tolerance to the local climate, while in adults, migration to another area will only lead to minor changes in coloration even after decades. Peak height also affected by the local environment during childhood, but even more so by the balance of hydration and nutrition level relative to that environment during the growth period.

Surprisingly, Zemali prefer raw animal meat and insects in their died, but they are even more fond of... fish… and likewise, they savor to drink a cup of fresh animal blood instead of juice. Most of plant-based food tastes bland, they say, unless it is fried almost to the blackness. Though any heavily burnt meal is appealing to the Zemali’s tastes, it’s ironic that they dislike fire, for obvious reasons.

Talking of fire: as all true children of Meora should, the Zemali retain an artistic love for gorgeous bodies and erotic poses, but due to their weak sensory system, sexual drive among Zemali is very low – for them, sex is solely a means of reproduction, and not a source of physical pleasure. Nevertheless, the experience of romantic love is in high regard, and the mating ritual is of great importance to them, providing mental enjoyment from the very fact of performing the ritual, rather than physical sensations.

Being closer to the trees not only visually but also mentally, Zemali are inclined to eidetic memory and strict circadian rhythm. For their unhurried nature, they have never been known for adventurous spirit, and for their vulnerabilities – they are still considered the least intimidating warriors. They are neither in a daily chase for personal glory, nor strive for great goals in life – Zemali take pleasure in the humble life of tranquility and familiarity which they sprang from.

Very polite and benignant, they can easily be offended by something as simple as at improper language, but will maintain a genial composure even with those they deeply hate. No matter what others do, Zemali are gentle and benevolent towards them. To aggressive tribes, they appear cowardly: easily forgive old enemies, very few of them are willing to experience anything extremal, and in general, they behave overly-pacifistic. As the Aspect of Grace teaches, Zemali too feel pity for criminals and traitors: not out of a desire to forgive them, but because they can no longer be forgiven and deserve punishment, but they show even more pity for the sistren who must now deliver these punishments.

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Before the Paleolithicc period began, and even before the First Settlements were drowned in the Sea of Birth, most of the Zemali ancestors, together with the Giants, migrated to the southern Thigh Region of Her Gorgeousness, to more fertile and stable lands where the Crumblings were less frequent and less stressful. There they were able to preserve the knowledge of agriculture, given to us by Meora, long enough for it to survive the first Crumblings and later be perfected with the help of sistren tribes. However, for being soft in spirit and body, after the Giants departed to the yet-Cursed Islands, the villages of Zemali were very often subjected to invasions, plundering and conquest during the primal wars and in the centuries that followed. But, during the tyrannical reign of the Hegemony, the Zemali were the only subdued Tribe that had at least relative sense of peace, which is ascribed to the fact that [REDACTED] didn’t even consider the Zemali to be living beings and therefore had no interest in their suffering as long as they continued plowing the fields and feed their empire.

Although the Zemali population have now spread and live in every region of Her Gorgeousness, thousands of years later many descendants of the first settlers still inhabit the Thigh region, spiritually inrooted there and never thinking of leaving their ancestral home. The massive farmlands and orchards of The Empire of Hips and Thighs belong to many Zemalic houses, for they are unmatched in their attentiveness to the needs of plants and earth. Zemali fingers can perceive the chemicals produced by vegetation – a sense through which they understand the current condition of the plants they care for, while the feet are able to identify the soil amenities. Through this comprehension, Zemali aid trees and crops by natural means, precisely determining the necessary measures, or finding the best fields for young plants, hence achieving greater yields than agriculturalist of other tribes. Although the help of sistren tribes is still required for the efficient harvesting. After which, the Zemali-Thighlanders gather for the feasts and holy celebrations that they hold in the name of food and fertility, to which strangers are always welcome to join. They do not speak nor laugh there, of course, but soft music and sounds of merriment are present. Often, Zemali houses celebrate together under the nearest Hallow Tree, and on some marvelous days, a newborn Angel of Grace joins to contemplate the results of the previous life.

Because of these abilities, the Zemali regularly provide assistance to the Remedy Forces, even those who are not blessed with the Gift of Creation, and some are actively assigned to noble activities around the Crus, where they help to heal and pacify the wild vegetation of Her Plagued Wound, bringing closer the day when the Infernal Malady will be extinguished and the Allmother will no longer suffer from this ancient bite.