Sadhu society has never been properly studied by the younger races. They are a deeply spiritual people, in touch with nature, but also with Heaven. They symbolise the first root race which emerged from the animal kingdom in human form. As such, many of them still retain animal features, such as ears atop the head, some fur or feathers, tails, and claws.

Their entire society communicates in metaphor, using their legends and stories as a means for understanding. This dialogue is ever-expanding. As new events happen, the Sadhu incorporate them into the language, giving them permanent importance. For instance, one might say "Aruna the wise" to mean a teacher, for Aruna was a very well-known scholar.

Their social structure is quite simple compared to the younger races. There are a total of 24 tribes, 12 of which are considered the elder, and 12 the younger. They have no official affiliation or treaty with each other, but most are known to cooperate with one another. Each tribe has a Guru who serves as the chieftain and head shaman, and matters of state are determined by the Ashrama, a body of spiritual and political personages.

For the most part, Sadhu society is closed to outsiders. They do not tolerate trespassers on their lands very well, and only regularly communicate with the Bharata who are their direct racial descendants. Although the Bharata use different grammar, the words are the same, and most Bharatans can speak Sadhu quite easily.

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Sramana - Shrah-mah-nah

Sramana is not quite a school but a class of holy man. Most Sadhu Gurus are called Sramanas out of respect. There are ranks within the Sramanas: those who perform Tapas, penances to uplift the mind and spirit; those who practice Bhuva-sama, harmony with the natural elements; and Karma-yoga, the practice of doing good deeds. There are also ritualists within the Sramanas, known as the Tantrikas. They carry out most of the rites for their clans and often also act as physicians and astrologers.

Parivrajaka - Pah-rih-vrah-jah-kah

Parivrajaka is also a class of spiritual pursuit, which is given to the forest wanderers. They are usually found incantating verbally and practice a combined form of Numinism and Animism. In the south-east realms of Sadhu, they are also referred to as the Ajahn. Because of the loose organisation of the Parivrajaka, little can be concluded as to regulated worship, practice, or ritual, other than the four basic oaths. The Parivrajaka swears never to stay in one place more than three days, to help those in need, to abstain from harming animals, and to abstain from liquor, meat, and wealth.

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The Sadhu follow a very loose alliance between tribes. Much of this alliance is mere formality, and reserved only for civilians. Warriors frequently clash on the roadside, and the clans, which are territorial by nature, are frequently in conflict. That is not to say war is carried out mindlessly or savagely, for the Sadhu have created a very strict set of laws concerning combat and rulership. A Guru must never be slain, but he may lose his rulership if his clan's territory is overtaken. Thus the Guru goes into exile, there to either spend his remaining years in seclusion, or attempt to gather his people together and try again at reclaiming their territory.

Further, civilians are never involved. Battles must take place a great distance from villages, towns, and all forms of settlement. Hostages, ambushes, and assassinations are against the rules, and those who break these laws often find themselves the target of several clans at once. Temples and physicianries are never a site of battle, and the many deities of Sadhu have been known to strike down trespassers of this law. Finally, battles are never fought after sunset or before sunrise, as night is considered a sacred time and each Sadhu has his or her right to rest and peace, even in the midst of war.

For civilian rulership, the Sadhu are governed by a Guru who serves as temporal and spiritual head of the tribe. He has with him a body of Sramanas who aid in the many affairs, serving in positions similar to governors and dukes. Beyond them are the Tribe Nobles, who serve to institute new laws, organise events, and oversee such things as construction and laying travel routes.

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The Sadhu military are bound by the body of law, known to them as the Vijaya Smriti. It prohibits involving civilians and their settlements in battle, strictly outlaws assassination, ambush, and hostage-taking, defines temples, physicianries, and cremation grounds as non-combat areas, and disallows fighting after sunset or before sunrise.

The physical structure of the military in Sadhu is simple. There is the Rajadasa, the equivalent of a general, and beneath him three officers called the Trismritidasa, who carry out the orders of the Rajadasa throughout the ranks. The army has patterns set only as per the Rajadasa's own strategy, and there is no standard legion formation.

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The Sadhu do not have a large industrial body, and what is produced is usually made within the village. Trade exists abundantly, but it is mostly on par bartering, rather than bulk export and import. The Sadhu are known for their brasswork, especially in statues, lamps, and ritual implements, as well as large brass story plates, in which they emboss historical scenes in sequential frames.

Textiles are also abundant, mostly in the realm of silk and linen. Dyes of saffron, red ichor, and indigo are used abundantly in Sadhu dress, as well as pattern embroidery using fine threads. It is worth noting that the loom was invented in Sadhu before it appeared anywhere else in the world, and is a tribute to their weaving industry.

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Spoken

The Sadhu language is the root of all human Solestian dialects save the Chi'en (which is a root language in itself). Bharatan is a close neighbour, and the more animalistic Ganas speak a rudimentary form. It is pronounced fairly gutturally, with stress on the first syllable of a word, followed then by each odd syllable. Most words end in a vowel, usually "ah", and the entire language is spoken quite rapidly, giving foreign students of the language (few though they be) a great deal of stress in properly ascertaining distinct sounds. The best route to learn Sadhu however, is to first learn Bharata. The two languages share common words, and aside from differing grammar, are mutually interchangeable in conversation. Bharata is spoken much more slowly however. In application to both languages, a common practice is to use "A" to negate the meaning of a word. Such as "Mara" is illusion, where "Amara" is reality.

Written

The written form of Sadhu is from left to right, top to bottom, with a ruling line placed at the cap height of all letters, but beneath the diacritic marks. It consists of 52 syllable and 12 consonant cursive characters, making it the third largest syllabary after Chi'en and Yagyu.

Names

Sadhu names are given a great amount of meaning, often heroic or spiritual in nature. Common additions to names include -dasa (servant of), or -deva (shining one). These are meant to instill the qualities of humility or heroism in a person. Children are often given a 'youth name' which they use until the age of twelve, when they receive their coming-of-age name. There is also an utter lack of surnames in the Sadhu, save amongst the Gurus who bear clan names as surnames. It is of note that no names in Sadhu begin with "F", "Q", "X", "Y", or "Z". "V" and "W" are pronounced as a soft "V" sound.

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