Rettleville Library/The notes of a library patron

Written in the find hand of a man who has dedicated his life to communication in text, these notes concern the knowledge of the section of the library in which they are found, that is to say they are a commentary on the Zuma Coalition.

The notes

I find the Zuma Coalition to be a most fascinating subject on a number of levels, well worthy of academic study for its purely intrinsic values. However, the level of understanding I consider most important is the political. The Zuma have in recent times posed a great threat to the Republic, and it is clear that they must be understood better for its survival.

The Zuma Tribes

Probably the most overlooked aspect of the Zuma Coalition is the role of the human Zuma, perhaps the most populous group of natives of Dwilight, in the realm's affairs. A fierce and alien group, the Zuma are known primarily as the servants of the Daimons of the Zuma Coalition, overlooking the great devotion they have for their inhuman overlords. The earliest accounts of exploration in the Zumalands tell of the strange appearance of the men and women living there, an appearance seemingly tailored to imitate that of the Daimons living amongst and worshipped by the Zuma. The Daimons appear to dictate ever facet of life to the Zuma, and their magical influence seems to have rubbed off on their people whose bodies do not seem to behave in entirely the same way as a normal man.

Zuma Society appears to be split in two or three ways, horizontally and vertically. It is known that there are a variety of tribes of Zuma, each with their own physical characteristics as typical of tribes of varied ethnicity. The Daimon influence over the land seems to embellish this, as Moritz Von Igelfeld tells of tribes standing both well above or well human height. Von Igelfeld's account of his Zuma companion would seem to indicate that tribes are divided regionally, though it is unclear how strict these divides are or if multiple tribes inhabit a single region. Also unclear are the houses referred to by the Daimon Vates in his encounter with Machiavel Chenier. Vates does two things of relevance to houses - first, it seems as if he examines Chenier's forehead for a house mark, indicating that perhaps the mark that Von Igelfeld received from Vates at an earlier time was similar to a house mark as well as a caste mark; second, he notes that he wishes to know who to reprimand. This indicates both a general responsibility that houses hold for their members and a sort of authority for each house, though whether this authority is human or inhuman is unclear.