Kurzick



The Kurzicks are one of the two vassal factions of Cantha, with the other one being their arch-enemy, the Luxons.

Habitat
The Kurzicks settle in the Echovald Forest, carving their homes and buildings in the trunks of the giant petrified trees.

The Kurzick capital is the city of House zu Heltzer, located in the middle of the Echovald. The spiritual center of the nation is the Cathedral zu Heltzer located in the Arborstone area.

Culture
The Kurzicks are a spiritual people who see signs in everything around them. Divination and foreseeing the future have a prominent place in their culture. According to their own words they respect innovation and creation above all else. Their society is a church-state governed by the Council of Nobles who stipulate laws and make decisions based on the guidance of their spiritual leaders, the Redemptors. Furthermore there are five Great Houses, noble families with great influence on the Kurzick nation, with lineages that can be traced to the earliest history of Cantha and beyond.


 * Note: That the Kurzicks have a culture of their own, separate from both the Canthans and the Luxons becomes very clear because of their distinctive look and language, which is very different from the typical Asian-inspired Canthan theme. Their look can be described as "gothic", wearing quaint robes/suits and hairstyle. Their preferred colors are grey and purple. Kurzick names are inspired by European rather than Asian languages, using typical names, words and phonetics from Germanic and Slavic languages.

The War against the Luxons
Nowadays the Kurzicks are in continuous feud with their arch-enemy, the Luxons. However, this wasn't always the case: These warring factions used to live and work together. Twohundred years ago the infamous betrayer Shiro Tagachi was brought to justice by the Kurzick champion Saint Viktor together with the Luxon Champion Archemorus. Unfortunatly both these champions were killed by the Jade Wind and the Kurzicks and the Luxons got into a fight over the circumstances of the event, which eventually sparked the war among them.

Right after the war began the two sides also separated their habitats: The Kurzick entrenched in the Echovald while the Kurzick settled in the Jade Sea area. Locations along the borderline between these regions, such as Fort Aspenwood, The Jade Quarry or the Harvest Temple in the Unwaking Waters are fiercly fought over until present day.