Those Who Keeps Records
ment’and-gaar
300 – 330 years
183 - 220 cm / 6' - 7' 7 - 10 m / 23' - 34'
30,000,000
Tefer
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A great need for knowledge overcomes them, to gather all of it and treat it in the same manner as a dragon with a hoard of treasure: To put it all in one place and only let their own people come and gawk at the glory of the house's accumulated knowledge. Being effigies of armour make defending their prizes and lands all the more easy.
Biology
Lizard-like or draconic in overall looks, though stripped back with features and lacking a tail. Mentandgar have three-clawed hands and feet, minimal pointed osteoderms, and any skin tones that reflect metals on Umeon, adorned with striped patterns of any colour. Their skin is infused with metals, and rarely holds onto any scars that didn't outright nearly kill them. Digits lost to injuries will grow back entirely, something to be thankful for given how few they possess. They can also eat just about anything, preferring hunting game but knowing the value of agriculture with manageable plants.
Normally they don't heavily rely on the use of heka, instead opting to use their renaissance if they can. A living suit of armour makes up their renaissance, it reflects their metallic skin and the effused aerogens embodying their stripes, wisping from them like cloaks, wings, scarves, and such in this form. Damage inflicted to this form doesn't carry back to taothomet anatomy the way it can for others. Before the Gattling came along, and not including the Zeitheir, the Mentandgar had always been the largest of renaissance amongst taothomet.
History
Their break from Shenuankh led them to question everything, and with that came an obsession with having to know everything, perhaps one day knowing the true origins of taothomet. Their strength and tenacity allowed them to dominate the lands they moved into, and have barely budged since. Zakhedjet the sovereignty is based on the original Order of Scribes, the council formed by major houses to determine land distribution and rankings. It is the oldest sovereignty and boastfully declared much of the main continent as their own back when they didn't quite have the numbers to uphold such a claim. Their true lands were in the central djer continent, made up of dense forests and calm grasslands, adjacent a patch of land they now protect known as Penumbra and the domain of the ix plant.
Their bombastic attitudes have often raised tensions between other taothomet, as they often think most land on the main continent belong to them. On the other side of the coin, the majority of their wars or conflicts have been with the Djeart wanting Mentandgar land, their domain containing immaculate hunting and farmlands compared to Iakhentef's waterless desert void. Zakhedjet is of perfect conditions, fertile lands not steeped in any known heka-induced mayhem, often sought after by other sovereignties. Djeart may be the last of Mentandgar biological lineages but the two bare strikingly similar personalities, with Djeart being far more belligerent in their actions.
Mentandgar also played a major part against the Zeitheir upsurges, losing the fewest; they held the lines for Bansidhe and Gattlings, and in turn defending Djeart on their own lands. Djeart saw it as a gauntlet slap to the face, their pride wounded by having their enemy protect them. Mentandgar never expected anything to change with a people so stubborn; however, their own pride scathed in thinking maybe such a gesture would give way to better relations.
Ioxetus Lonely Aether ee'oh-zeht'uhs or ee'oh'shay'thus
Sometimes called the Heka Barrier, the hinterlands between Mentandgar and Djeart lands. This tends to be the most popular place to end conflicts with the Djeart, so overwatching it is often sought after by houses.
Culture & Society
Fierce warriors wrapped in an almost literal concept of protection and a distinctive hyperfocus on asking questions and obtaining intellect. A trait that has led them to become very overprotective of books and relics. Nearly all information is regarded as revered, a never-ending aspiration to fortify their minds the way their bodies are already bulwark. Their protective need isn't just of their information, it more than often carries over into intersocial behaviours. Mentandgar will become extremely protective of people, strong bonds going beyond familial ties, where squads who spend a lot of time fighting together will regard each other as family and equal to that of any blood relative.
The average settlement is built around one main road ending in the step pyramid-like perch where the ruling house lives and guards the town. Most structures are geometric-inspired, simple overall, with platform rooftops, all designed to allow for withstanding the punishment of flora, fauna, and their own renaissance.
These living armour creatures are—almost needless to say—heavily into metallurgy, excelling as natural refiners and smiths. They can work with any metals and retain their natural properties, creating the best possible weapons and armour. A mentandgar knight is easy to spot, they're the only ones who would ever wear full body armour; not to stop other taothomet, as many have ways around and through it, but is mostly a method of theirs to silence verdigris. Plants sense the presense of aeon easily, but when clad in the elements of the world they almost disappear completely from their detection.
The Sovereignty
Mentandgar are given attribute for the sovereignty system now adopted by all domains, with their leader simply called the Sovereign. Guarding their lands the Sovereign appoints around twenty houses to rule an order, their provinces. The Sovereign appoints the title of Altech to the reigning house, held up by the five Teneo houses, followed by the rest, the Banneret.
Cavaliers, House Leaders, are the strongest knights appointed directly by the Sovereign. This means, in short, whoever becomes the next heir have to prove themself to the Sovereign. As an Altech they have free reign over their territories in their provinces, so long as this benefits the land, the people, and the sovereignty. All of these houses maintain the provincial orders, guarding the workers, farms, and most importantly the borders, with unranked houses making up the workers and farmers.
SovereignReth Xybattan VII
Ranks
Sovereign
Altech
Teneo
Banneret
Ruler Above
High Elder
Guard / Upholder
Band / Basin
Gaining any of these order rites is a prestigious honour and is held in the highest of standards and can be taken away at any point by the Sovereign. This honour doesn't always entirely stave off resentment, in-fighting, and undermining from houses that make up the orders, often bold moves to change ranks. The Sovereign will shuffle houses to prevent this, or if another house has clearly shown their prowess and want a better land stake.
Great Houses
The Sovereign house stays in power indefinitely till they fall to war, and when they finally do, the Sovereign's Altech house is expected to step in, its Cavalier becoming the next Sovereign. When smaller houses become too weak to rule they are normally absorbed by the house they've impaled (married), or the closest higher ranking house.
Xybattan Ward's Truncheon ky-bat'ahn
One of the last remaining highest houses, Teneo Reth Xybattan VII of the Order of The Omniscient Vide was of a border patrol in the far west of Zakhedjet. He was looking to attain his family's place in Waal, and immediately stepped in after the Sovereign and other great houses fell during the last Upsurge. He ignored old pacts and called for the defensive lines to move into Iakhentef to help Djeart, knowing full well it worked in the past.
Eoahauut
Xiua
Axel
Provincial Orders
Order of The Axiom
Headed by the Sovereign, as it is the location of the throne, and where the original Order of Scribes was established. Houses in this order are the Protectors of the Ternion and take up residence around these Vanguard-named lakes. Within Lake Wrenikem is The Avalerion Dais, the island where the actual royal step is located.
Order of The Lonely Aether
Order of The Omniscient Vide
Order of The Muted Sentry
The Etudiant
Their collected knowledge contributed to their social evolution, adopting many rules and laws over time, and then citing traditions and old texts when any individual strays from the norm, eventually becoming known as The Etudiant. A long-winded list of rites, daily rules, laws, traditions, proverbs, collected from other cultures and soldered to their own. Mentandgar do well in other societies because of this, when they move to new places they ask enough questions to learn how to fit in before anything else.
They adopted the ideas of other cultures to create the Constabulary for the lower ranks, which was then in turn accepted by the cultures the guild's values were based. They also began heraldry and the Heraldic Arms guild, creating the traditions of documenting houses, lineages, coat of arms.
Mentandjat Books and Records ment'an'zat
The Mentandjat is a library housing the greater collections of all peoples, be it as copies, first editions, or originals. Originally built in Quiescent Mind with the greatest of pomp, a grand subterranean complex designed to keep their records impeccable. Scholars would want to come from distant lands in order to overdose on intellect, if only the library they had built didn't completely vanish. It's still around, waiting to entertain the biggest of bookwyrms, if only its true entrance wasn't so hard to locate.
Mythology & Folklore
While they delve into mythos belonging to other cultures often, their most personal of mythologies are related to the netjeru Nenkhenythus and his book, and the natural satellites, the Vanguards. Otherwise, Sovereigns and knights attain a hero status, like they somehow know they've been written into Nenkhenythus's book.
Nenkhenythus Possessor of All Knowledge nEN'ken-ee'thus
They believe they were created by Nenkhenythus as his stalwarts, to protect what's his, which, according to them, is everything. This may be part of their overall thought process for wanting to collect everything, with the attribute of each individual wanting to be their own page in his book. The higher the chance of that happening if one can aspire acumen in all fields.
Waal Book / Leaf / Page wahl
Elders jokingly call it The Manual, or The Book of Words. Everyone wants to be a page, every house wants a chapter. Family names starting with Waal have had an ancestor attain status of Champion.
Vanguards
Wrenikem Ciertes Shield ren'ih'khem
Vanguard. BEEG MOON DO THE SHIELDY aw fuck me I'll write it later
Ilyyand Ylig Foille ill-ee'and
Vanguard. Nenkhenythus has to have a weapon, RIGHT; YEAH HEAVY METAL wait not that kind
Qetloa Roa Squire ket-loh'ah
Companion. Point at the newb satellite and laugh.
Mentandgar
