Tusacwyan General Worldbuilding

The earliest evidence of human activity in the Tusacaway dates to 12,000 BCE, with ossified flutes appearing along the Black Tawaic. These musical instrumentals are among the oldest artefacts in the entire world, and appear alongside evidence of human activity. These antiquated human groups likely developed and broke away from from proto-Craviterian precursor groups in the southern continent, migrating into the deep wood through the valley between the Guardian and Shield Rock mountains near Ceekaskotin. The earliest evidence of complex language and writing systems dates to around 7,000 BCE. The distinct, wavy syllabary used in the region of the contemporary Tusacaway is called as ohpîwaw or Oppayaw. Codices up to about 6,000 BCE have been collected and copied, with no physical writings or works appearing past this time. In 5,400 BCE, the first consistent culture-civilization emerged in the Tusacaway, known contemporarily among historians as the yôwahtam ('drawn-in'), Yowahtans, or Yowah Civilization. The nomadic, patriarchal hunter-gatherer people of the fledging period of the Yowah civilization are referred to as the early Yowahtans whilst the complex societies developing past the 7th century BCE are known as the late Yowahtans, characterized as being matriarchal and more concentrated along the Tawaic river with regards to population centres. The civilization at all times was generally hermitic, with miniature population clusters around modern day Tawaic, Tawiscayew, and Tastuweyas.

The early Yowahtans residing on the present-day Coast of Ancient Mischief were subject to habitual raids and skirmishes from historic Ad’Cane settlements in present-day Korova. These raids were confirmed through depictions in the Manetoweyn Codex. These naval attacks are believed to have lasted intermittently for three centuries until the disappearance of the Ad’Cane from southern Korova in 3,500 BCE. In 600 BCE, The Bayardi people in northern Craviter introduced Umbrial script to the late Yowahtans through coastal trade networks. Copper exploitation was also introduced to the Tusacaway by the Bayardi. Hereon in, the Yowahtans progressively began to abandon their nomadic and hermetic customs, concentrating in permanently settled places built with timber and clay under spiritual matriarchs emerging as the first precursors for contemporary Great Mothers. city-chiefdoms formed with organized militias wielding copper-tipped arrows and spears and ruled with their wealth in agriculture and fisheries. As a result of the construction of pelt-bound books adapted from codexes in this period of time, the quantity of durable written material increased exponentially after 600 BCE.

In 100 BCE, nearing closer to the collapse of the Yowah civilization, cast iron began to be used and distributed throughout the Tusacaway, a major innovation from copper. The Shield Rock and the Twin Sister mountains began to be exploited for their metals which were smelted and made into alloys with stoneware casting-furnaces, to then be molded into daggers, shields, religious objects, and armour. This was the height of the Yowahtans before the civilization's complete disappearance in about 48 BCE through a puzzling series of internal conflicts starting in 3 CE and lasting until 13 CE, known as the Collapse of the Twenty-third Millennium. These conflicts are believed to have been influenced largely either by schismatic religious conflicts in the region, poor crop yields attributed to drought in the prairies, and a crisis borne in the development of advanced weaponry. A variety of these factors with heavy emphasis on religious warfare is usually observed as the decisive cause for the collapse, considering written evidence from the era heavily supporting such a theory is abundant. As a result of these cataclysmic changes, the Bayardi ceased trade with northern coastal towns from this point onwards.

The remnant and newfound peoples of the Tusacaway following the collapse—the Mistameka, the Ayaskapiew, the Apithana, the Akimasca, and the Miapiskiew—formed distinct and individual cultures within novel settlements established around the Sky-Rock, transitioning progressively towards the Tusacaway as it was in the middle ages. These cultural groups pursued short-term, evenly-matched, and intermittent war with the other. However, in 984 BCE, the nations entered into a comprehensive apowwen (fervent and religious warfare) more merciless than any other before it, a fact likely attributed to the development of adept contingents of heavy infantry in the Mistameka as the introduction of horses from the rest of Craviter into the Tusacaway. Artefacts of ancient torture have also been identified around this time as well as evidence pointing to the execution of captive prisoners of war. The Tawaic Smoking Circle ended what came to be known as the Cruel Apowwen in 1014 after the Mistamek encroached on the entirety of the northern Tusacaway. The Akimasca, and Miapiskiew conceded to their victories despite wielding potentially more might in collaboration, and concurred to exile the vanquished Apithana of the northwestern region and place them under the subjugation of the Mistamek. The advancement of Mistamek military power demonstrated in the Cruel Apowwen leads to their postwar golden age and dominance in the Tusacaway known as the Mistamek Supremacy, a precedent which would have vast and complicated consequences in the future of the Tusacaway.

Prydanian Vikings landed on the Coast of Ancient Mischief in Tawiscayew in the summer of 1088 to ground their fleet briefly due to bad weather. Having landed just minutes from the town of Tastuweyas, the Vikings and the Mistamek inhabitants conducted a very well-known cultural exchange. The Tastuweyas inhabitants were happy to collaborate and learn from the Vikings and integrated the Vikings into the town. Several letters and manuscripts were penned describing Prydanian culture, language, customs, as well as the situation and environment of Prydania under their King, Vortgyn III. Unfortunately, the initial amity between the Prydanians and the Mistamek broke down unsurprisingly in light of major religious differences, and the Vikings proceeded to attack the Mistamek one week into their arrival, razing Tawiscayew and nearly completely destroying it. Chief Kisimo of the Mistamek managed to organize a forceful resistance further south however, and the raid was eventually pushed back and encircled back to the Coast of Ancient Mischief as even more reinforcements directed in by Kisimo from the inner country assisted the Mistamek defence, forcing the Vikings to abandon the Tusacaway, never to return for another millennium.

At the dawn of the new millennium, the Tusacaway came into contact with more outside forces while struggling with interior conflicts. Developments to complex trade routes by terrain and by river between interior towns allowed for improved commerce and communication across the country, although this new interconnectedness challenged the general peace that reigned since the Prydanian contact. Climate shifts only contributed to further problems. From about 1130 up until 1290, the northern prairie was ravaged by periodic droughts, leading to bloodshed among Mistamek settlements for food. In 1292, a greatly prolonged and disastrous dry spell across the entirety of the northern plains caused a tremendous scarcity in sustenance, leading to turmoil among both the Mistameka and the Miapiskiew. Alternatively, the Ayaskapiew endured the drought because their diet was mostly satisfied through the hunting and berrying in the southern regions, and managed to flourish as a result of their two neighbouring nations' mayhem. This advantage would not last long however. in 1311, the Ayaskapiew oversaw the arrival of the mounted Leopard Horde from Essalanea through the valley of Ceekascotin. The Leopard Horde assumed the faith practiced by the residents to be messianist, likely attributed to the similar religious imagery attributed to both faiths as well as the proximity of Ceekascotin to other messianist towns along the frontier. The 'Sacking of Ceekascotin' refers to the Leopard Horde's descent upon Ceekascotin, ransacking about the streets, razing the Atakamek, and taking the chief into hostage and executing him. While the armies of the Ayaskapiew Chieftain managed to allay the Leopard Horde further into the region, the sacking lasted for an entire week and absolutely ravaged Ceekascotin. With no further advance possible, the Leopard Horde left Ceekascotin to pursue their campaign in Korova.

By 1312, the dry spells had mostly been resolved, although the Tusacaway had been severely impacted by the catastrophe. As a means to reassert control and manage the situation of land, the historic Otena were first drawn in by the Mistamek Great Mother Yospisewyn with singular, sole chiefs appointed to oversee the entirety of those regions. This system was adopted later on in a similar aspect by the Miapiskiew, and the outlines of these divisions would evolve into the contemporary Otena of the Tusacwyan Confederacy. The War of the Conflux, a territorial conflict between the Mistameka and the Miapiskiew broke out in 1440 due to a trade barrier encouraged largely by the Great Distaste of 1383, a geopolitical dispute with roots dating back to the Great Apowwen. A pocket of land dividing the coastal parts of the Mistamek and Miapisk lands was agreed to become common land for both nations to share following the war. Although in 1383, the Miapisk disregarded the settlement and brought in soldiers to slowly expel Mistamek farmers from what was decidedly Miapisk farming grounds. The war saw the Mistamek capturing the cities of Tawaic and Menykawn in 1426, an incredible and terrifying achievement. Knowing that the traditional custom of enemy exile could not feasibly be employed in such densely populated regions of the country, the procedure was altered for the first time in history to simply tolerate the largely Miapisk cities. This did not however, impede the Mistamek from ultimately settling the towns and compressing the Miapisk population into pocketed quarters.

In 1532, bands of frontiersmen from Eissenland, a realm of modern day Mintoria, began the scale the Shield Rock in hopes of finding both adventure and new territory. Finding themselves on Miapisk land, the Eissenlanders were initially resisted and challenged by the Miapisk, but were later permited to come and conduct trade in the cities of Wacwaski, Sipyk, Patosyik, Cawiscotew, and Ceekascotin. This interaction introduced Mintorian-style firearms to the Tusacwyan, a term which initially described an early flintlock arkebus, but came to represent slide-action firearms following the introduction of break-barrel firearms during the Treaty Years of 1854 to 1900. The firearms proved to be extremely effective, and their power set an uneasy precedent of potential Miapisk supremacy across the Tusacaway and retribution directed towards the Mistamek. Anxious Mistamek diplomats were sent in disguise to Sipyk and Wacwaski in an attempt to purchase and reverse engineer the rifles and successfully distributed firearms across the whole of the Tusacaway, leaving relations with the Eissenlanders strained, who ceased trade in the Miapiskiew by 1601.

Further attempting to challenge the balance of power in the Tusacaway, the subjugated Akimasca and Ayaskapiew confederated in 1674, marrying together their Great Families and forming a unified assembly under one Chieftain, much to the displeasure of the Miapisk who had title over Akimasca lands for centuries. This political union proved to be controversially good, with advancements in their military prowess and economic development ensuing, directly threatening both the Mistameka who held supremacy in the region, and the Miapiskiew who were recovering from flooding. As a means of reconciling the mounting tensions, which gravitated towards the possibility of apowwen, the Miapisk sought to end the threat by proposing a holistic confederation for the first time. Efforts to negotiate this initially were mostly hopeless, with the Mistamek and the Akimascapiew legations both proposing vying conditions against each other. However, in the spring of 1694, the Miapisk legation delivered a shocking ultimatum that if there was no alternative to peaceful unification, they would ultimately confederate with the Akimascapiew and conquer the Mistameka by means of brutal apowwen. This notion guaranteed the pursuit of an ultimately peaceful confederation, depending on either the collaboration or annihilation of the Miapisk, a strategy regarded today as 'peace by war' or wîtaskîwin sâposcâpêhowin. Finally, in the summer of 1694, The three legations proceeded to unify their nations through confederacy, introducing and ratifying the first mawata which declared the Tusacaway as a confederacy of the Mistamek, Akimascapiew and Miapisk, reserved exclusively for them, under a consensual Nistokamek, curated by the Great Mother and her leader therein, the Chieftain.

A consequence of confederation was the total neglect of the Apithana, a cultural group vanquished by the Mistamek during the Cruel Apowwen, who had been mostly left unchanged and uncontested in their continued exile. With confederation establishing the presence of Okipah—the ranger-frontiersmen of the Tusacaway—all across the country, the northwestern Apithana country began to resist what was perceived to be a police occupation, a complicated hostility known then as the Apithana Dissent. In 1702, the smallholding system devised by the physiocratic Nistokamek under Great Mother Kisakhomen was introduced to the Apithana. This interruption in their usual communal husbandry proved to be extremely unpopular, inciting the Nistokamek to allocate more Okipah to the Northwest. It was consequently the goal of the Chieftain Pawwat in 1766 to subdue the Apithana swiftly. He disbanded the Assipisk Otenahk and dismissed their chief, advertised Apithana land as ideal farmland to citizens, and called in the Tusacwyan Army to control the Apithana, who he often labelled offensively "halfbreed" on the false assumption that in their isolation, the Apithana had become inbred. By the 1800s, the exploitation of the Apithana country had become a walk of everyday life, and would not change for the rest of history. The army was withdrawn from the region in 1790.

In the early 1800s, the political climate of the Tusacaway's neighbouring countries in Craviter changed tremendously, much to the concern of the Nistokamek. Flotillas moved often across the Auburn Channel and armies were surveyed marching along the Tusacwyan perimeter. The Callisean-allied Arcanstotskan Republic stationed troops in Yelamki in 1810, with contingents of soldiers moving back and forth through Issapikyew, a mostly remote Apithana town to pursue naval superiority in the Auburn Channel. The Tusacwyan government accordingly sent an armed embassy to meet with the Arcanstotskans and negotiate with them. In the interest of preserving the peace, the Takapor Settlement was ratified, allowing the Arcanstotskans to secure the vantage they were seeking in Issapikyew, granted that their infantry policed the Apithana country—now officially known as the Northwest—from what they called “the interminable pursuance of the half-bloods.” While the Arcanstotskan infantry did fulfil their promise to ascertain order in the area, the soldiers began to assimilate into their station, participating in Tusacwyan customs, pursuing family and livelihood among the Apithana, or simply seeking accompaniment from local women. This was not initially seen as a problem for the Tusacaway, until early 1816 when the tides of the war changed. Arcanstotskan Republic troops sent a concise dispatch to Tawaic in February to inform the Nistokamek of their withdrawal from the Takapor Settlement. Insulted by the indifference towards the matter, the Nistokamek voted to banish any remaining foreign infantry from Issapikyew, resuming Okipah policing in the Northwest. A large minority of Arcanstotskans soldiers, however, chose to resettle in Assapisk and Wisacitew with their Apithana partners.

In the springtime, anarchy fell upon the Northwest. With the Calisean Army of Norsia Third Corps retreating back into southern Craviter from allied UKAG pushback, the decision was made to pursue an attritional invasion of what they thought to be barren country in the Tusacwyan Northwest to occupy a point of vantage, much like the Arcanstotskans years prior. The Calisean army pursued and defeated local militias as well as Okipah garrisons all the way to Tastuweyas, at which point news of the invasion was recieved in Tawaic, causing exceptional panic. The Tusacwyan Army was called in immediately from the east, and the Battle of Tastuweyas ensued in which the Calisean army was defeated. Many soldiers attempted to desert, fearing their treatment by the Tusacwyan as prisoners of war. These runaways were welcomed into the Northwest by their Arcanstotskan allies, while the rest of the Calisean prisoners were either forcefully relocated to Assapisk, or executed. With this introduction of foreign culture into the Apithana country, the Assipiskan cultural identity began to proliferate across the Northwest.

Following the Battle of Tastuweyas, a genereal calm followed between 1816 and 1850 in the rest of the country. Unfortunately, conflict erupted in the Northwest once again. Despite the successes of confederation, the Tusacaway in this period was still largely rooted upon the doctrine of Mistamek supremacy. With many Mistamek Tusacwyan having settled physiocratic estates upon the Long Tail in the early 1700s, the influx of outlanders fomenting the birth of a new, Northwestern people brought unease to them. The conflict that arose, the 'Northwest Affair' was largely concentrated on the Mistamek and the Assapisca factions, referred to as the 'inlanders' and the 'half-bloods'. Dispute escalated in Assipisk in 1852, where ethnic brawls began to consume the town as well as their surrounding communities with prolongued, habitual Okipah intervention. The majority-Mistamek Nistokamek acted in the interest of protecting the economic interests of the Northwest, leading to the creation of an informal, reactionary inlander militia with the vocal support of the Great Mother Pakwatoweyn. Despite the violence that began to ensue, the Great Mother was subsequently assassinated by an Assipiskan radical in early 1853, leading to her sixteen year old daughter Camocayac becoming Great Mother in the context of great uncertainty. Camocayac is regarded, however, as being exceptionally shred and a peacemaker, with her first actions being to denounce the Mistamek faction of her Nistokamek who were ousted by her prerogative. She accordingly sent the Tusacwyan army in to quell the violence, arresting members of the inlander militia and Assipiskan radicals. Over the year, the also teenage Chieftain appointed by Camocayac, Oscayis, managed to garner support for the Northwest Act, passed in the winter of 1853, which fundamentally changed the organization of the nation by banning political and ethnic partisanship in the Nistokamek. The Act also proclaimed the Northwest as the homestead of the Assipisca, a cultural group now recognized by the confederacy.

The following year, the Tusacwyan came into contact with and established relations the Prediceans in the infamous Treaty Years. After a sinking Predicean gunboat ran aground in Menykawn without prior notice, the crew of the vessel disembarked in Menykawn and quarrelled with local authorities, mostly on account of a language barrier. With the crew arrested, a second Predicean ship arrived in Menykawn several days later in search of the missing crew. The sixteen-year old Chieftain Oscayis and his entourage hurriedly traveled to Menykawn to address the situation, although by that point it was revealed that the Prediceans were being held in captivity. This precedent was highly disturbing for the Prediceans, who decided in recompense to levy the unequal Treaty of Friendship and Amity onto the Tusacaway. The treaty implicated the free transit of Prediceans authorities into the Tusacaway, who came often to negotiate. The first Embassy to the Prediceans was thus established in Menykawn in 1854. In 1855, the Prediceans levied a second treaty onto the Tusacaway known as the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce. This treaty was an economic settlement which allowed the free exchange of good between the Tusacaway and Predice. This commercial activity was limited to Menykawn, which became a port city for Predicean vessels selling and exchanging goods and became a place for Predicean visitors to open small shops along the bay. In the following years, approval of the Predicean expenditure grows as a result of a confluence of new opportunities and technologies. In 1883, the Spirit Chief Nûk began his infamous bookbinding campaign, which sought to chronicle and itemize all of the Tusacaway's archives and relics, most of which were manuscripts and codexes. Nûk subsequently published the first Tusacaw-Predicean dictionary. With the introduction of modern vessels via Predicean trade, the Nistokamek ordered the creation of a modern naval flotilla through the Motherland Act of 1894.

In 1900, the Treaty Years came to an end. The benefits of Predicean trade were concerning to the new Chieftain Tacwakici who feared reliance on exterior commerce in order to bolster the national economy. Favouring his goal, there had been a decline on trade in general due to domestic crises in Predice and alternative ventures which were more profitable to them. In response, Tacwakici dissolved the Embassy to the Prediceans and closed to port of Menykawn, severing ties to Predice at the beginning of his tenure. Having successfully achieved his first goal, Tacwakici was now focused on his goal of bolstering the Tusacwyan economy from the interior. As a reformer, he introduced industrialization and incentivized companies to produce warehouses reliant on steam and coal powered engines. This was a major success, as the surge in mass production began to increase readily available goods for the general public. Additionally, modernization in building materials and construction led to the development of compact, colourful buildings wired together with plumbing and electricity. Tacwakici's administration is also credited with pioneering legislation behind bison conservationism in 1905, introducing accessible medicine and health in 1912, and regulating competition from 1916 to 1918 with a series of commerce antitrust law. However, many criticize Tacwakici for his policy of confined statist industry in 1907, a groundbreaking law that set into motion the forced industrialization of the Northwest which contributed as a factor of the future Constitutional Crisis. Only in 1918 did his administration concede to legislation granting Northwest factory workers basic labour rights.

The 1950s proved to be an unwelcoming and generally devastating episode of Tusacwyan history as a result of the Kiwymacan movement. Alternatively called the 'separatist movement', Kiwymacan began to root in the Tusacaway as a result of social, political, and religious disputes stemming from pre-confederal allegiances as well as the growing anger of Assipisca living in the Northwest towards the rapid industrialization and oppression set into place by Tacwakici. While most individuals had become accepting of their fellow clans following confederation, fundamental religious disagreements still arose on the basis of their clan and cultural group. While the majority remained forbearing, a highly vocal minority combined with the decision of the Spirit Chief to invalidate the religious beliefs which did not follow the Mistamek tradition sparked a slow burn towards what would become all-out domestic warfare. In 1953, Kiwymacan supporters labelling themselves fighters of the Mikhôno or 'Red Warriors' began to encourage riots, civil disobedience, and the younger members shocked the nation by refusing to partake in pawakan en masse. Violent confrontations with the Okipah and other local police forces followed in order to instil compliance, adding more outrage as it appeared as though the Okipah were violently butchering adolescents simply for refusing to partake in religious ceremony. Tumult in the Nistokamek among those who supported kiwymacan (kiwymacaniw) and the conservatives who valued confederation (pakiteyimowiniw) culminated in December, with an all-out Mikhôno Assault on the Okipah garrison in Tawaic.

In January, the Mikhôno now led by the despised Commander Mico Atim commenced an assault on the northwest in order to secure the industrial heartland of the country and gain the allegiance of the Assapiscans by deposing Okipah rule in the region and broadening their rights. This proved to be a phenomenal success for them, with the Assipiscans joining the Mikhôno in droves. The Mikhôno subsequently occupied Assipisk in February with their aid, proclaiming their newly occupied territories as a breakaway state, 'The Mikho Confederacy'. Seeing the troubling successes of the Mikhôno in the Northwest, Chieftain Kayacswin ordered the Tusacwyan Army into the Northwest to depose the rebellion. The Battle of Assipisk occured on March 19th, with a strategic victory at the hands of the Mikhôno, forcing the Tusacwyan Army to retreat in humiliation from the Northwest. From then onward, the Mikhôno continued their campaign of aggressive territorial expansionism with little resistance. As the moderate kiwymacaniw chiefs began to progressively become more radicalized and more popular under the leadership of Chief Coastacwyan, the Great Mother Yiscosykanis proceeded to intervene in order to save her nation. In August, she commandeered the military with agitation, leading a massive flotilla of gunboats and mobile infantry all the way from Menykawn, deep into the Northwest and reclaimed it with fantastic success, with a final stand between her army and the Mikhôno in Wisacitew in September. Meeting with Mico Atim, Yiscosykanis negotiated the unconditional surrender of the Mikhono, dissolving the Mikho Confederacy, and dismembering the organization.

After a seismic event in the Auburn Channel inundated Menykawn, Tawaic, and the entire northern coast of the country in mid-September, Tusacwyan morale reached a pitiful low, with economic depression, environmental destruction, and the aftermath of war bringing about uncertainty towards the future of the confederacy. Yiscosykanis ultimately decided to spearhead national reconstruction. Appointing an entirely new 'Crisis Nistokamek' composed only of her most trusted officials, Yiscosykanis empowered the Okipah through the Crisis Resolution Act of 1954 to act on whatever terms necessary to ensure stability, giving new meaning to their power. The following year, a second Act was passed by the Crisis Nistokamek which softened the powers of the Okipah and introduced a variety of new procedures. Some of the more important aspects of the law were prohibiting and criminalizing any and all anti-confederal expression and display, prohibiting and criminalizing all legislative partisanship, not solely the basis of cultural groups, and establishing the Office of Climate and Environment in order to monitor seismic activity in the Auburn Channel.

Twenty years following the Constitutional Crisis, environmentalism became a great concern across the Tusacaway. While Chieftain Tacwakici's legislation conserving the bison was beneficial, it only slowed the growing decline in their population, which reached under 5,000 in 1973. The Nistokamek subsequently banned the hunt of bison indefinitely, calling in Okipah to protect the Death-Rock Jumping Grounds and the Tastuweyas Jumping Grounds. This legislation would not be overturned for another twenty years. Additionally, the first ever oil spill in the Tusacaway shocked the nation in 1973 when a group of heavy goods vehicles transporting crude bitumen toppled in a landslide that allowed an equivalent of 100,000 litres of crude oil to spill out into the Short Tail river basin, causing untold environmental damage and tainting the drinking water of Kiscickanys. As a result, the Nistokamek banned future petrochemical energy generation. Existing stations could operate until their fuel sources were depleted, whereupon they would be decommissioned and replaced with hydroelectric or nuclear generating stations. In 1974, the Whale Conservation Watch was founded in Menykawn, a precursor to the International Anti-Whaling Association which The Tusacaway would later founded in 2020.

The Tusacaway is an antiquated endonym originating from the Mistamek pre-confederal culture of the land serving as a description of the cultural niche of their society. While the true original meaning of the word is lost, it is known that Tosakwê means something equivalent to 'People of the Water' or 'River People' which is rooted in the society's mastery of its internal waterways as a means of transit and transportation. This term was brought externally by Arcanstotskans, Calisseans, and Mintorians, with the mercanti word Towsaquaway and Towsakawan appearing in translations from the early 19th century. As mercanti evolved, the word did as well becoming the accepted 'Tusacaway' in the early 20th century. In Prydanian, the Tusacaway is known as Skræland from Skraelingi, a term which is roughly equivalent to "People who wear dried skins" or "Pelt-clad people."

The Tusacwyan language—Tusacaw—is an isolate within Craviter, having developed and evolved from within, without any significant intermingling with neighbouring languages. Depending on the region, some Tusacwyan people speak a slightly different version of the language than Tusacwyan peoples in another area. The closer the speakers’ towns or communities are, the more likely they are to understand one another. For instance, the Pimtowatin Tusacaw is more closely related to the Ceekascotin Tusacaw, and is therefore less intelligible to Tastuweyas dialect speakers from the Big Plain. Tusacaw uses Umbrial script as a result of its introduction to the Tusacaway via trade and interchange with the Bayardi during the Yowah Civilization before both cultures collapsed. In order to teach the construction of the language, Tusacaw uses a syllabary consisting of multiple consonant-vowel pairs with additional placement for consonant suffixes and prefixes. Tusacaw has four consonants with alternate inflexions (e.g. [a] and [â]), nine basic consonants, and four irregular consonants with some dialects using an additional fifth irregular consonant as a modifier.

Tusacwyan religion, Manitowan is an animistic religion. It postulates that there are a multitude of spirits that walk the earth among humans, mostly in the form of the environment of Eras. It is thus believed that all trees, rocks, water, and soil possess souls and spiritual energy, conferred by the Manitou, the central creator-deity within Tusacwyan Animism. The Tusacwyan religion does not assume the concept of judgement, and instead guarantees safe passage of all human and non-human spirits to the afterlife, a world which is described as being endlessly beautiful—a land in which every spirit is allotted a great mountain upon which they may gaze at all creation. The Tusacwyan creation story recounts the journey of the corporeal Manitou on Eras, and his journey towards setting into motion the events and phenomena of everyday life, and is divided into twelve 'matters' or 'events' which are highly interpretive and symbolic.

In the first matter, the living, breathing stars of the primordial cosmos appoint an individual to manifest the creation of a perfect world, in which spirits and souls may converge and come together to live and to persist in harmony. The heavens appoint the Manitou, a skillful seamster to bring the world into existence.

In the second matter, the Manitou weaves the world in a multicolour yarn, with vast plains of blue, yellow, green, and brown. As soon as the Manitou finishes his work, he ties the final yarn together, and throws the finished tapestry over the shell of a great turtle, shaping the tapestry against the creature, creating the hills and mountains. At the centre of the turtle's back is the sky-door, where the physical world meets the cosmos, and where the Manitou dwells on Eras.

In the third matter, the Manitou begins to devise and sculpt mankind from the ground, although he is not entirely sure of their purpose. In order to defend them whilst he considers their potential, he appoints the three wise fowl—the turtle, the whale, and the pelican—to safeguard and protect the young humans from jealous and vengeful spirits.

In the fourth matter, the Manitou embarks on his pawakan, marching across the world, scattering common fowl created in the likeness of the three wise fowl across every surface, planting groves of trees, and inviting the spirits of the cosmos to settle the world as he ponders.

In the fifth matter, the Manitou completes his journey as he is wracked with images and inspiration from his toil, and finally knows him the potential of mankind. They are to be the keepers of the land, the guardians of his worldly tapestry, and the workers of the fields. In the joy of his inspiration, the Manitou jumps to the top of the Sky-Door, awaking the early humans and breathing new life into them.

In the sixth matter, mankind has matured through the Manitou's gifts and departs from the Sky-Door, passing through the mountains and the seas to settle the entire world. With the three wise fowl now old and weak in their service to the humans, the three wise fowl are promised by the Manitou an eternal serenity, never to be hunted, never to be disturbed, never to be harmed.

In the seventh matter, the Manitou goes to rest atop the Sky-Door where it is calm.

In the eighth matter, the bison trample the Manitou in a great horde out of envy that they were not chosen to be the guardians of the earth. In this attack, the Manitou is seduced by death, but manages to arise in order to deal with the threat.

In the ninth matter, the Manitou delivers vengeance to the bison, rendering them clumsy, weak, and mute, as well as banishing them to walk the Big Plain for all eternity, where they may be hunted and made into the fodder of men. The manitou promises total and complete obliteration should they rebel ever again.

In the tenth matter, the Manitou does away with his spouse, the Sky-Woman, deposing her from her life among the stars in the heavens and banishing her to walk the earth. As she falls, she is swallowed by the river and flows away towards the ocean.

In the eleventh matter, five young sisters discover the Sky-Woman and take her from the stream, feeding her, and providing her warmth and shelter. Upon caring for her, the Sky-Woman shines in the likeness of a star again, much to the surprise of the five young sisters. As a gift for their benevolence, each sister is bestowed a fifth of the riches of the land, and a body of subjects to provide for them and sustain their land.

In the twelth and final matter, the Manitou ascends to the cosmos in an incendiary glory, having fulfilled successfully the wishes of the stars. For his labours, he is granted a principal position among the heavens, where he may view and admire his creation in awe for the rest of his life.

Historically, the Tusacwyan lived in closely-knit communities in permanent settlements established along their interior network of rivers. The more populated communities often lay near the Auburn Channel, although river deltas rushing out into the open water were the sites of the largest populations. Tusacwyan life was seen as heavily independent and drenched in community rites and customs. While they are still available and common in contemporary society, the teepee was the unit of the family in traditional society whereas today they are mostly used as a mobile residence. Each family slept in a teepee which was constructed around an internal wood fire which would billow from an opening in the top. There, a family could keep warm and cook. At the centre of these settlements were a number of longhouses. In smaller towns they may have been up to five longhouses. In coastal and riverside towns they could have been up to fifty or sixty. While were reserved for the Chief and his family, the majority of the structures had ancillary responsibilities. There was often a tanning house dedicated to drying out meat and pelt, a pothouse for community activities and celebration, and a boarding house for the sick and injured to sleep and recover.

Spirituality played a much greater role than it does in the modern era. The Atakamek or 'star-house' was seen not only a place of worship, but a gateway to insight and knowledge. The Tusacwyan would assemble within and around the walls of the Atakamek at night, and deafen all the fires so that the sky could be observed. The consumption of psychoactive enthogens such as Ahpihc or Cikâsipakwa cultivated by the Mitouyew or cleric of the Atakamek was very common. These substances would broaden the inhabitants' sense of perception and also put them at ease whilst they studied the sky and the stars, in an attempt to communicate with the spirits of the heavens. After this worship, the congregation would come together and discuss the premonitions and understandings revealed to them, listen to the divination of the Mitouyew, or simply leave to go and rest or eat. This kind of worship did not occur regularly, although it was was predetermined. Sometimes these ceremonies would occur just twice a month, sometimes they would occur day after day. It all depended on a variety of societal factors.

Oral tradition was sacred in terms of cultural rites. While the Tusacwyan historically documented everything, they preferred to transmit all information verbally, as the principles of spoken word and storytelling were seen as their greatest proficiency. During appowen, or conflict with neighbouring towns, communication was the most valuable asset in a contingent of warriors. As such, battles were often accompanied by a melody of sportive calls from every soldier, mostly in an attempt to provide as much information as possible as the conflict persisted. During the summer months, when harvesting food was of little difficulty, much of the inhabitants' free time was spent either engaging in activities far from home, or telling stories with each other. Arguably the most important oral tradition is that of the Tusacwyan creation story, which is said to have been passed down from elder to elder for twenty-four thousand years. Elders who enter the stage of their lives where they suffer from memory and dementia are said to have 'the dying of the lights' or nipayahkâskwan, which is considered to be the ultimate sadness.

In the winter, it was crucial for the Tusacwyan to stock and store an amount of game that could persist the entire town. This became more of a strategic challenge in the more densely populated towns, although barring times of scarcity, this never was a problem. The preservation of meat and agriculture was essential during this time, and so historic Tusacwyan foods often reflect this persistence. Dried bison, caribou, and hare were produced in massive quantities. Wheat and corn were milled, leavened, and baked into loaves or alternatively, they could be milled, cracked, and left in the form of a hard wafer if the winter lasted too long. Berries and nuts could be combined in sweetmeal made from goose egg and acorn flour to form bannock, a long-lasting sweet dish. They could also be dried into the bison and caribou jerky to form pemmican, a food which was vital towards providing proper nutrition and energy to the Tusacwyan during the winter.

Industrialization and the development of advanced technologies has allowed the Tusacwyan to progress beyond their historical society in terms of efficiency and convenience. This however, has had only a small impact on the cultural and social traditions woven into the Tusacaway by its ancestors. The Tusacaway continues to purport a unique and rich culture that has evolved since the dawn of civilization. In general, Tusacwyan culture continues to be heavily defined today by its animistic faith, oral tradition, naturism, family organization, matriarchal and matronymic social structure, and principle of consensus and democracy.

Animism is still a religion which still has significant influence in Tusacwyan society despite acceptance of enlightened reasoning in philosophy and sense which would promote indifference to religion in other societies. Essentially, this is associated to the religion's apparent lack of stigmatization and judgement (hell), its multidimensional and holistic views, idealizations of peace and serenity, and to a lesser degree its employment of relaxants. Many consider Animism to be more of a way of life in the contemporary than a religion, although the faith still accepts the concepts of divine intervention and retribution. The faith continues to be observed everyday life at the places of worship known as Atakameks. Mitouyews continue to administer nocturnal assemblies, although at a less constant rate than what once was in the past. Conversely, Pawakan is still practiced at the same rate as it has been for centuries. Pawakan, the act of seeking spiritual revelation, continues to be practiced universally throughout the Tusacaway by young adults as a coming of age ceremony and a rite of passage. Its profound significance demonstrates the resiliency of the Tusacwyan faith, as it implicates an individual navigating the vast wilderness of the Tusacaway by oneself.

Oral tradition in the modern age is still a facet of the Tusacwyan cultural identity. Understanding and mastering the art and precision in storytelling and communication continues to be a principal expectation within Tusacwyan society. It is such an important expectation that it is highlighted as a focus in Seminary as a component of a student's language class. Oral presentations, debates, and commentaries, as well as rehearsal and acting, are pillars in a student's proficient language education. Whether it serves a practical purpose or whether it is purely out of entertainment, correct and expressive verbal transmission is seen as an attractive and impressive quality. Forgetfulness and lack of precision are both regarded as highly embarrassing and extremely annoying.

In the Tusacaway, the environment and the appreciation of nature plays a large role in society. It must be noted that to this day, the vast majority of the Tusacwyan population lives in the country outside of major population centres. Additionally, the vast majority of rural Tusacwyans do not pursue physiocratic careers, rather, they live their traditional lifestyles as they always have in their communities, unaffiliated with both agriculture and city living. Like oral tradition, endurance in nature, and an understanding of the environment is seen as an essential tenet to a student's education in both Seminary and in their daily lives. Children are actively encouraged to get out of the house as often, as early, and for as long as possible in order to engage their sense of composure in their environment and to develop physical fitness. Adults are also expected to move away from their parents in the pursuance of their own family and livelihood as soon as they can, although there is no fixed age for this—some leave earlier, some leave later.

The family is considered the unit of Tusacwyan society. Multiple generations often live together in a single longhouse for the majority of their lives, as it is an expectation for daughters to return home to their parents in old age with their partners. As such, it is common to enter one's home in the Tusacaway and see ones grandparents and great-grandparents as well as their siblings and potentially their aunts and uncles. During the summer, seeing one's entire extended family is a goal often pursued, although this is more common among the rural Tusacwyan population where travel is more easily accessible. In the Tusacwyan custom, one was traditionally expected espouse outside of their clan (cultural group), although the enforcement of this custom declined sharply following the Constitutional Crisis. The notion dates back to early confederation, emerging from the dual wictoweyn, wherein the Great Families of the Mistamek, Miapisk, and Akimascapiew intermarried as a symbol of the nation's unification.

The organization of the Tusacwyan family structure is also matronymic and somewhat matriarchal. The female partner in a wictoweyn is generally expected to pass her clan name on to her spouse. Additionally, the female spouse traditionally takes the role in society more often attributed to men in northern cultures. For instance, women are expected to provide for and defend their families, and are the primary breadwinners for their house. Women are also expected to be assertive, and expose their children to athletics and competitive activities. Men are expected to manage and take care of the household, and are more often than not, a secondary source of income for their home. Men are expected to be assertive as well, but not to the degree of their partners, immerse their children in teaching and education, and nurture them. In general, men are expected to be deferential to their spouses, although not quite subservient. In spite of these distinctions, men abide by traditional gender norms in Tusacwyan society by occupying the skills of hunting and trapping, as well being the sole persons limited to government and in the military affairs.