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The Tsūo-tsūo are a near-Human race that aihded Mankind during the Great Migration, coming to dwell in Hrisatelen and there made themselves the foremost scourge in the world. That the Tsūo-tsūo have not subjugated the whole of that land is thanks only to the heroism of those people who dwell near them, and the perpetual war between the Tsūo-tsūo and the Men of Hrisatelen have made both the best horsemen in the world.
There exists among the people of Hrisatelen this saying: "
Appearance
Though they appear like Men upon first sight, the Tsūo-tsūo are clearly inhuman when examined with any degree of care. As a people, Tsūo-tsūo possess few physical traits that hold them in common, but there are among them three traits that most possess: six fingers, multi-hued eyes, and sharp teeth, like those of a wolf or a dog. Their eyes may be half one color and half the other, and come in all shades and hues except blue. Another thing held in common by them is hair color, for they are all black-haired and no other color is known among them.
All races produce children that look like their parents, but the Tsūo-tsūo do not: their children can be as if they are perfect recreations of one of their parents, or look as if both parents were split in half and put back together, with one half being the mother and the other the father; and yet more permutations are known among them, for some Tsūo-tsūo are born looking like no one else in their tribe, and others are born looking as if all the tribe had taken part in their birth.
Tsūo-tsūo tend toward dark skin, being that they are a nomadic people and so are extensively touched by the sun. But any shade of skin common to Man can be found among the them, as can any configuration of face or body. The order of the gods, long set in place, seemingly does not bind the Tsūo-tsūo in appearance or in personality; they are a people born of insanity.
Soul
Tsūo-tsūo are commonly believed to have no souls by the peoples of Hrisatelen, who have devised all manner of explanations for why this may be so. Among the Horsînna it is said that the Tsūo-tsūo have no souls because they are demons in the shape of Men, while the Hrisanai say that they are soulless because the god Taūsrokala took their souls, and that is why they are so monstrous and unfathomable. The Grey Book, written by the Selæ during the Great Migration, makes the claim that the Tsūo-tsūo are 'animated and given purpose by the evil of Men, for they are the mirror the gods made to show Man the evil within him'.
Aztalorian high sorcery has put to rest the question of the Tsūan soul, for it was discovered by Herretorzûn in his great experiments on souls that they have a single component of their souls. Whereas Men have three parts - the upper, middle, and lower soul - the Tsūo-tsūo have only one part. Their souls are not primitive, however, as they possess faculties found only in the intelligent races of the world. This lack of partition is a possible cause of their insanity, for the upper soul imparts morality and goodness, and the middle soul rationality and cunning, and the lower soul instinct and desire. Lacking in these things, but possessing a soul of such significance that it imparts self-awareness, would naturally result in a creature that can comprehend itself but cannot preserve itself, for it has no instincts; and it cannot understand right or wrong, for it has no inherent morality; and it will be incapable of rationalizing its actions, because it is irrational.
Religion
The Tsūo-tsūo adhere to a philosophy that they are all part of a single god named Tsūo-tsūo. This god dismembered itself during the dawn of the world and spread its ruined body across the land, creating the first of the Tsūo-tsūo. It did this to experience itself and to experience life, death, and all things that can be felt and done. According to this philosophy, as the Tsūo-tsūo are the 'Flesh of God Made to Experience Itself', everything is permissible and nothing is forbidden. There is no reason to suppose that this origin myth is false or created as a mere justification for their monstrosity: their actions can only be explained through accepting this origin as fact.
In addition to worshiping themselves as the embodiments of a dismembered god, the Tsūo-tsūo worship a great multitude of gods. They keep the mysteries of these gods a great secret and obscure the meanings behind their rituals; despite this secretiveness, however, reasons for some of these rituals have been divined by the other peoples of Hrisatelen, who have in the interests of common brotherhood divulged them to the world entire.
As part of their religion, Tsūo-tsūo eat the flesh of their foes and abide by three rules in doing so: first, if the enemy is dead, they eat his flesh raw. If he is alive, they cook him alive and then consume his flesh. Always they sacrifice a portion of the enemy to their gods by placing it in effigy jars, and leaving it in those jars to rot and dissipate. Some of their gods are toothless, for their priests will chew the meat first before depositing it. The nomads of Hrisatelen, such as the Hrisanai, say that the Tsūo-tsūo eat Human flesh to gain spiritual and physical strength. It has also been supposed that they eat Men in order to acquire a sort of spiritual understanding of Mankind.
Culture
All that is known of the Tsūo-tsūo and their culture comes from that which can be observed and from what the people of Hrisatelen tell us. The Tsūo-tsūo hold in common a disdain for those not of their kindred, and so do not divulge their secrets or the meanings behind their actions. Much of what they do is unfathomable and seems against reason, and this is because they are an unreasoning people; they do not think like Men or any other race. The only thing that they hold in common with Humanity is that they look like us.
Tsūan women are covered from head to toe by cloth and always wear a talisman made of gold, silver, or another precious metal. It is forbidden for any woman to show any part of herself under the sun, but women may reveal themselves indoors, underground, or at night. They must always be accompanied by a man, and when no man is available, they are guarded by effigies made of mud and straw which wield weapons made of flint. When the Tsūo-tsūo are at rest, their women are kept inside of yurts or given shelter in holes in the earth before emerging at night to perform their duties.