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THE
KAAER'DÁR'SHÍN
HALF-ORCS |
The
Kaaer'dár'shín is a tribe composed of humans
with orcen ancestry. This tribe was
originally a part of the Kuglimz tribe and broke off
from the main Kuglimz before the Third Sarvonian war
of 298 b.S. This large group of Kuglimz, comprised of
criminals and exiles, migrated to the north western
Sarvonian region of Caael'heroth in the
Themed'lon Forest, northwest of the Imlith Mountains along the southwest coast
of the Gulf of Oh'Cant'aelwyn.
Soon after establishing their colony, which they named Torik (lit. "Home"), the
humans encountered dark and corrupt tribes
from northern Caael'heroth as they moved south to invade
Sarvonia. Tragically, these
Kuglimz immigrants fell victim to the harsh brutality
of the Osther-Oc orcs, and the tribe soon
fell into corruption and forsook the noble Kuglimz
ways and was forced to embrace much of the orcen
culture. Throughout the war, the humans
were subjugated and raped of their identities and old traditions. Most notably,
inter-breeding occurred between the humans
and orcs producing many half-orc
children. The Kaaer'dár'shín now exist in a bleak, and unstable culture. They
are a barbaric, hunter/gatherer tribe, with very few similarities to their
Kuglimz ancestors.
Appearance.
The tribe's orcen ancestry has given the
Kaaer'dár'shín powerfully lean bodies, with wiry muscle and long arms and legs.
They possess wider girths than most other human
men. They are also shorter than most men, with both sexes standing an average of
1 peds, 4
fores and 1
palmspan. Due to this
heavier build, their average weight is typically between 1
pygge, 5
hebs to 2
pygges, 1
heb.
The Kaaer'dár'shín are not brute warriors. Instead, they are well suited for
stealth and are swift runners capable of tirelessly running long distances. They
have lean legs and wide feet well suited for agile movement. The Kaaer'dár'shín
also possess large, nimble hands with long dexterous fingers. Their grip is
strong and they wield their weapons with
extraordinary agility. The Kaaer'dár'shín women possess similar body types,
slightly shorter than the men, but no less strong or tough.
The Kaaer'dár'shín facial structure is what first betrays their
orcen ancestry. Although due the various
amounts of orcen blood within a particular
individual, each person can appear more like a
human or tend to possess more orcen
features. Generally, both sexes possess wide and flat faces with a high brow and
widely spaced eyes. They have slightly wider noses with larger nostrils than
most other human tribes and also possess a
high cheekbone structure. Their chins are strong with a pronounced jaw line.
Their teeth are larger than most other human
tribes, and are square and blocked shaped. Their ears are large, with long lobes
which the women often decorate with fish scales or metal studs. The variation of
pointed ears varies among the tribe as well. It is estimated that perhaps one in
ten Kaaer'dár'shín children are born with slightly pointed ears. They have
short, thick necks that extend down between wide shoulders.
Typical Kaaer'dár'shín skin colour can range from a light tan to a deep brown.
Varying shades of gray or green skin color are not uncommon.
When going to battle, in either a skirmish or a war party, the warriors partake
in a blessing ritual meant to grant success on the battle field. They paint
their faces with white or red colours, usually lines formed by dipping a
forefinger into the paint and drawing it down or across the forehead, cheeks and
chin. Leather leggings and the thick hide armour of the
Tsor-Shota lizard function as
protection of the chest and shoulders.
Hairstyles among the tribal members are plain and ordinary. The warrior men
typically wear their hair long, approximately shoulder length, tied back with
leather cords. Some men wear no hair at all and prefer to paint their scalps
with black or red paint. Still other men shave part of their hair off around the
sides leaving a loose length along the top and back.
Kaaer'dar'shin women usually wear plain clothing, with equally unadorned
hairstyles to match. The women are functional and practical with very little to
distinguish themselves between their various roles. Often, the wives of the
warriors will wear ear decorations such as bands of leather hanging from their
lobes attached to a tiny steel stud. The Kaaer'dár'shín women are workers of the
home, caretakers of the elderly and young children, and provide clothing and
prepare food for their families.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
The Kaaer'dár'shín coat of arms is depicted as a buckler wrapped in the hide of
the Tsor-Shotak with three feathers
along the top and two daggers crossed in front of it. This is a typical T’lark,
or "Blood Defender", and is a holy and revered shield of great significance
among the warriors as each warrior is tasked with making and using one
throughout their lives.
Territory.
The Kaaer'dár'shín occupy a relatively small territory in
Northern Sarvonia. They have
made their main colony in the Themed'lon Forest in the southeastern part of
Caael'eroth along a bridge of land going up into the Heaths of Eph'denn, Cartash
and the Shadow Coast. The colony, named Torik, meaning "Home" in the
Kuglimz tongue, is a
large encampment composed of bromer and wooden style structures. The colony lies
mostly along the eastern and northern borders of the forest as well as within
the forest.
Their territory is mainly forest and plains areas and they maintain a sizeable
presence in the Imlith Mountains for hunting the
Tsor-Shotak lizard that resides
there. Along the northwestern base of the Imlith Mountains begins the
Kaaer'dár'shín's main occupation. Small villages and camps lie scattered
throughout this area that serve as bases for nomadic hunting and war parties.
Once the forest borders begin, the villages and encampments grow larger,
especially towards the center of the Themed'lon. It is here, between two rivers
and two gulfs, is where the Kaaer'dár'shín thrive on the fishing and
woolly boar that inhabit the area.
The Kaaer'dár'shín can safely call the Themed'lon their own as no other
Sarvonian tribe lives within the forest.
Extending northwest out of the Themed'lon Forest borders is the plains areas.
The Kaaer'dár'shín maintain smaller villages and encampments here in a similar
fashion as they do to the south. Nomadic war and hunting parties move all
through this plains area in constant battle with other nomadic
Osther-Oc or dark elf war parties. The
Kaaer'dár'shín and the Osther-Oc have
maintained a long war of raids and skirmishes among the Heaths of Eph'denn for
hunting and living rights.
People.
The Kaaer'dár'shín live to survive in the isolated and harsh environment from
which they found themselves in many years ago. They are isolated from other
human tribes and their inter-breeding with
the
Osther-Oc
over the many years of the tribe's existence has culminated in a culture of
corruption, war, and barbarism. The Kaaer'dár'shín men live in a mix of
Kuglimz and orcen
cultures. The tribe lives a simple lifestyle and have no extraordinary cities or
man-made landmarks to their credit. The men are trained to hunt and fight while
the women are schooled in taking care of the home.
As a whole, the Kaaer'dár'shín keep to themselves and have little interaction
with other Santharian tribes.
Obviously, contact with their ancestors, the Kuglimz,
was lost during the Third Sarvonian War and both tribes deny the shared ancestry
of the other (in fact, the mere mention of their past shared heritage will
likely get you killed). Typically, violent interactions are the norm with the
Osther-Oc and the
Ashz-Oc. The tribe does not favour outsiders
and the few who have ventured into Kaaer'dár'shín territory are typically not
welcome and must prove themselves as someone not associated with their
traditional enemies, the main Kuglimz tribe or the
orcs.
Relations with the dark elves of Caael'heroth are rare, and always have been,
even during the Third Sarvonian War. The dark elves were known to use the
Osther-Oc as mercenaries and frontline
troops and it was the orcs who subjugated and
enslaved the Kaaer'dár'shín. The dark elves of most likely never cared to bother
with the band of human exiles and left the
"care" of the humans to the
orcs. Still, through the years of the tribe's
existence, an occasional Kaaer'dár'shín war party encounters a dark elven party
and along the Heaths of Ephdenn and fierce fighting occurs. The Kaaer'dár'shín
know all too well who commanded their orcen
cousins so long ago and the hatred between the two is intense.
The Kaaer'dár'shín in the past have had some small contact with the
dwarves and
elves of the Imlith Mountains to the
southeast of the Themed'lon. Generally, however, the contact is short and under
a tense and distrustful atmosphere. Sometimes trade among the races occurs where
fur pelts and tools exchange hands before the groups disappear to their
homelands. The elves and
dwarves of the Imlith know well the
Kaaer'dár'shín's ancestry and distrust the orcen
bloodline within the former Kuglimz peoples, but on
those rare occasions, the groups come together for small periods. No violence
has ever occurred during these short trade meetings.
The Kaaer'dár'shín have not solely adopted all
orcen customs and still maintain some of the customs of their very distant
Kuglimz cousins. They live in close-knit families and
every member of the family has a function of some kind. Every family is expected
to contribute to the welfare of the tribe, be it physically or spiritually.
During courtship, males with status or accomplishments are seen as worthy mates.
Kaaer'dár'shín women make no distinction between fighters or craftsmen or
fishermen. If the man is shown to be worthy and adept in his skill area, he is
deemed fit for marriage. Girls are born and trained from childhood to respect
and manage their homes and husbands. They have great influence among the family,
but little say within the tribal government as a whole as they do not partake in
leadership roles. Occasionally, when the need is great, a female is allowed to
become a warrior if they demonstrate talent in wielding the
blade and proficiency in
horse riding. More often now than in the
past, depending on the current chief's views, are females allowed to train and
join a war party. Many girls, however, are still strongly encouraged to follow
traditional paths.
All males receive basic training in weapons
and fighting tactics from the age of five to the age of manhood, at age 13. All
boys are assumed to become warriors, as fighting is a way of life for the
Kaaer'dár'shín. But, the tribe does recognize that not every man is a fighter
and that men are often needed in other roles such as craftsman, fisherman, horse
breeder or as a simple labourer.
Kaaer'dár'shín warriors are masters of the hit and run style tactics and swift
and deadly skirmishes. A band of Kaaer'dár'shín raiders upon their swift
landesh ponies with
spears held high, dark red body paint, and
their well renowned bucklers is an intimidating sight. The Kaaer'dár'shín
warrior begins his training at the age of manhood and is taught horsemanship,
archery and how to wield light weapons
such as daggers, short spears, hand axes
and throwing knives. Warriors are expected to be in good physical shape and to
be strong and agile. Often, skirmishes consist of ambushes and hit and run style
raids either upon horseback or on foot
and a warrior is taught to think fast and strike and retreat quickly.
A typical war party is composed of ten warriors, sometimes more or less,
depending on the type of skirmish planned. Each warrior takes a steed, the
landesh pony, specifically bred
and trained for speed and stealth, and is decorated with paint and feathers. A
warrior’s pony is prized and revered and highly valuable to a warrior.
Sometimes, the pony is saddled with a simple seat and reins, and sometimes not,
depending on the warrior. The warriors then mount their steeds, each person
wearing Tsor-Shotak hide armour,
leather breeches and thick, soft soled boots. Each warrior, depending on their
skill, carries a spear,
axe or bow
and the party departs after a blessing from the shaman.
Non-warrior men among the Kaaer'dár'shín function in very important roles. Chief
among them are the weaponsmith and shaman. The weaponsmith is responsible for
crafting the many light weapons used by
the warriors. A skilled weaponsmith can produce finely honed daggers of steel
that are very light in weight and easy to carry. The weaponsmith also produces
short spears made of heavy wood from the
trees of the Themed'lon forest with a point of steel at the tip. Some
weaponsmiths specialize in metal weapons while others craft the
bows and arrows of wood. While the
bows and arrows are typical of those made
elsewhere in Sarvonia, the
Kaaer'dár'shín's skill in making lightweight metal
weapons are renowned throughout
Santharia - if you can find a genuine
Kaaer'dár'shín piece. Rarely are these fine Kaaer'dár'shín
weapons seen outside of their secluded
borders.
It is rare that a Kaaer'dár'shín ever leaves the tribe, but it does happen from
time to time. The tribe never encourages anyone to leave as the need is always
great for warriors and labourers. The danger from the
orcs is always present and the tribe can
rarely afford to lose even a single member. Nevertheless, sometimes a man or
woman decides to leave and venture out on their own. Usually, they leave with an
outsider who may have come to visit the tribe or sometimes a member is exiled or
killed for committing a crime. Journeying over land is always difficult as that
entails traveling through the Ashz-Oc
territory. The Kaaer'dár'shín have no modern means of ship travel so that makes
water travel difficult.
However the means a Kaaer'dár'shín finds their way out of the tribe, they often
possess valuable and desirable skills wherever they happen to be. A warrior
typically finds work as a ranger or tracker. Some become mercenaries (although
they typically would never work with any orc
or dark elven people). The occupation of an assassin often fits well with the
Kaaer'dár'shín's natural affinity for speed and agility as well as their skill
with the light weapons. Also, the rare
woman who finds her way outside the tribe can find work as a weaponsmith,
horsebreeder, cook or seamstress.
Housing.
The famous Kaaer'dár'shín raider, Temejin Tarter (1000 a.S.-1055 a.S.),
introduced the bromer, a hovel type dwelling, that still exists today. These
Bromers are built in a cone shape, and covered with the thick fur pelts of the
mountain wison, also providing
them with an excellent source of food.
The bromer functions as a single dwelling home for a family. They are easily
built using up to five tree logs standing upright and tied together at the tips.
The fur pelts of the mountain wison
are wrapped around it and usually a fire is
made in the center while the family members sleep comfortably around it. The
bromer is lightweight and can be torn down and moved if needed using a simple
wagon pulled by a horse.
More elabourate housing exists within the main Kaaer'dár'shín colony around and
within the Themed'lon Forest. These housings are composed of a wood frame of
logs, usually two to three rooms in size. Higher ranking leaders of the
Kaaer'dár'shín live and worship within these homes and are more permanent than
the bromer. It is mostly craftsmen, shamans and horsebreeders who live within
the main colony and these larger buildings.
Clothing.
The North can be a quite cold with an unforgiving climate. As such, the
Kaaer'dár'shín dress for warmth as well as light weight movement. Typical
clothing is composed of thick leather leggings made from the hide of the
woolly boar or the mountain wison.
The hide of the woolly boar make
excellent overcoats and provide adequate protection from the
winds that blow from the north icelands or
from the gulfs.
Clothing does not vary much between the genders. Warriors typically wear
clothing that allows them maximum range of movement and agility when fighting in
hand to hand combat or when riding upon a
horse. The Kaaer'dár'shín favour darker coloured apparel with a dark green
or brown mantle and dark-brown leather sole pads for stealth with the hide of
the Tsor-Shota as armour for the
warriors.
Clothing made from the hide of the
wolverine is probably the most favoured and most valued. A Kaaer'dár'shín
warrior who finds victory in slaying a ferocious
wolverine is fortunate to be able to
have a cloak or vest made from the soft, durable and
water-resistant hide.
The Kaaer'dár'shín are a deeply superstitious folk and believe in wearing charms
upon their bodies. Woolly boar
tusk, the teeth of the Tsor-Shotak
lizard and, among the shamans, the bones of fallen enemies. They believe
these charms provide everything from protection in battle, to good crops to
favourable weather.
Diet.
The Kaaer'dár'shín are primarily meat eaters. Their main staple diet consists of
the dried and cured meat of three beasts native to the northern lands: the
woolly boar,
the mountain wison and the
Tsor-Shotak lizard. Fish are also a
means of meat. The tribe also grows small amounts of crops such as berries and
vegetables.
The Kaaer'dár'shín are simple cooks. They believe in using most every part of
the animal for food, clothing, shelter and charms. The
woolly boar
is hunted year round and can be prepared in several ways, depending on the cut
of the meat. The boar is favoured during the Feast of Horkcha, when up to fifty
boar are caught and roasted over a massive open
fire pit. The meat is prepared using fruit juices to give it a tangy flavour
and portioned off in large chunks.
The mountain
wison is
usually cured in the sun and dried before eating. The meat provides a long term
food source as it can be stored for long periods or taken on hunting parties and
eaten as needed. Wild male
wison are
important in the Festival of the Pit Horn, where a wild
wison is
loosed in a fenced off arena and pitted against warriors who attempt to kill the
animal with their bare hands. Once the
wison is
killed, it is slaughtered, cooked for two days over a pit and eaten by the
victorious warrior's clan.
The Tsor-Shotak lizard's meat is
also cured and used for long term feasting. The animal is revered and is never
killed for anything except for food and armour. The meat of the
lizard has a stringy and tough
consistency, and is usually cut in strips and dried before eating.
Living so close to two main bodies of water
provides the tribe with a substantial supply of fish. There is typically no
special means of preparing the fish other than stripping off the scales and
cooking it over an open fire. Not all of
the Kaaer'dár'shín eat fish. Only the clans and families living close to the
coastal areas consume fish as a primary food source. The Kaaer'dár'shín living
in the plains and mountain areas are boar,
wison and
lizard eaters.
Weapons.
Kaaer'dár'shín warriors are adept at light range combat on foot and upon a
horse. They are skirmishers, ambushers
and primarily use hit and run tactics against their main enemies, the
orcs.
The tribal warriors are experts in the use of the
bow and arrow. All males are provided with
basic training in the bow as a means of
fighting and hunting. Warriors are given additional training to be able to shoot
while riding a swiftly moving horse and
to hit targets far away. The skill of the bow
and arrow cannot be understated as it provides a means of hunting and fighting.
Typical Kaaer'dár'shín
bows are made from the
trees of the Themed'lon Forest. The
bows come in long and
short forms, and can be decorated with feathers, paint or strips of animal hide.
The tribe's bowyers are a clan to themselves and are revered for their
bow making skills.
The spear is another
weapon of the Kaaer'dár'shín warrior.
The spear can be thrown or used as a hand
to hand weapon. The wooden shaft of the spear
is made from the forest trees of the Themed'lon with steel or sharpened stone. A
few spears have barbed tips or curved
blades, but those are not used for hunting, but more for ritual purposes.
The Kaaer'dár'shín are excellent trackers and assassins and use light weight,
hand held weapons that can be held
easily when running or riding. The few Kaaer'dár'shín daggers and hand
axes that have been seen outside of the
tribes borders command respect and awe. The dagger is intricately designed with
a curved or barbed blade and a handle
wrapped with thin strips of Tsor-Shota
hide. The blade is light and designed and
balanced according to each warrior's hand. It is said that the half-orc
assassin Uruk Blackscar uses two Kaaer'dár'shín daggers in his grisly work but
no one that has seen his daggers up close have lived to provide first hand
knowledge of the rumour.
Short swords are also a favourite
weapon among the warriors. The short
sword is typically used with the Blood
Defender and in the hands of a skilled warrior, the combination of the two
provides more than adequate defensive and offensive capabilities. Since the
Kaaer'dár'shín prefer swift, agile fighting, the short
sword compliments their style of combat
and is easily wielded.
Hand axes and special, smaller daggers are
used as ranged weapons for throwing and
in hand to hand combat. The axes are also
made and balanced accordingly so as to be handled easily when dual wielded or
thrown. The tribes warriors are trained to have extraordinary accuracy when
throwing the axe and some veteran warriors can hit a moving target over twenty
peds away with an
axe or a target up to ten
peds away with a dagger.
The T'lark (lit. "Blood Defender"). Among the most
sacred and revered possessions among the Kaaer'dár'shín warriors is the T'lark,
or the "Blood Defender". This is a special holy buckler made by a coming of age
warrior after his first kill. The buckler is made of heavy hide from the
Tsor-Shotak lizard and is an effective
defense against sword or mace strikes.
Also, the Defender is small and easily carried by a fast moving skirmisher.
A T'lark is often decorated with small symbols or pictures depicting each battle
a warrior has won (or lived through) and other kinds of decorations vary
depending on the warrior's preferences. Some have boar tusk or hide attached.
Some have feathers while others are plain with simple markings. The T'lark is
sacred and always carried into battle. A warrior who returns home with a broken
or lost buckler is allowed to make a new one, but only if the Defender was lost
in battle with an enemy.
Occupations.
The Kaaer'dár'shín fight for survival amongst enemies on all sides, namely the
various orc tribes that surround the
Kaaer'dár'shín borders. As a result, the tribe's main occupations are centered
towards warfare and most family clans understand that their role within the clan
is to support the warriors both physically and spiritually.
Warrior (Uck)
The warrior is the chief occupation in the Kaaer'dár'shín tribe. All male
children are born with the assumption that they will join the ranks of the
defenders of the tribe and become a warrior. Perhaps six out of ten children
born become warriors of some kind. From the time a male child can walk, they are
taught the histories and behaviours of the enemy. They are given training
weapons and learn to guide and track and
hunt. When a male reaches the age of manhood, typically around the age of
thirteen, the boy joins a war party and learns to live among the wilds of the
nomadic camps of the warriors. Warriors are taught horsemanship, tactics, how to
move with stealth and guile and weapons
skills.
Craftsmen
Men and women of the tribe are capable of serving as craftsmen, and are schooled
in weaponsmithing, bow making, fletcher
(arrow making), tool making and trap making. These men and women are second only
to the warrior in importance as they provide the means for a warrior, and tribe,
to carry out their duties and the tools with which to kill the enemy. A typical
craftsman takes a life long vow to serve the tribe using his or her skills and
begins in childhood under the tutelage of a master, usually the child's closest
relative, or if no relatives are craftsmen, the child is apprenticed under
another master. By using the readily available material around them, such as
wood, stone and steel (the steel typically taken from fallen enemies), the
craftsmen creates extraordinary weapons,
tools and traps for the tribe.
Shaman
(Uon'kh'al'on)
The third most important occupation within the Kaaer'dár'shín is the holy
man, or shaman. The shaman is viewed as the embodiment of the spirits of life
and protection and the tribe sees the shaman as the most wise person in the
tribe. The shaman advises the chief warrior in all manner of subjects - warfare,
management, spiritual matters, politics and laws. The shaman is typically an
older warrior who has proven himself in battle and is chosen on the basis of his
victories. It is said that an esteemed warrior is chosen with a vision from the
spirits and becomes the holy man by a vote from the council.
Hunter
and Fisherman
Hunting and fishing are done by both the men and women of the tribe and these
occupations serve an important purpose, obviously, to keep the tribe fed and
nourished. Hunters are trained with the bow,
spear and dagger and join a group of
warriors on hunts for wison,
woolly boar or
Tsor-Shota. Every spring, summer
and fall, the tribe would gather at the Themed'lon Forest and hunt for days at a
time during the Festival of the Hunt. All able hunters would join small groups
of warriors and journey north and south from the Themed'lon and hunt
wison,
woolly boar or
Tsor-Shota and bring back the
spoils to the tribe where they are dispersed to the families.
Government.
The Kaaer'dár'shín have a loose system of government where a single shaman and a
single warrior of great renown are charged with governing the tribe. The shaman
is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the tribe while the warrior is
responsible for the physical welfare of the tribe. The two elder leaders are
responsible for all major decisions that the tribe has to make such as laws,
warfare and hunting.
The elder shaman is the spiritual head of the tribe and thus is charged with
interpreting all of his visions and others' visions. He leads in prayer and all
religious ceremonies and rituals. He blesses all festivals, hunts and prays for
victory over the war parties. The elder shaman is seen as the embodiment of the
Great Spirit and is revered, respected and obeyed without question.
The elder warrior is responsible for all leadership in war, craft and hunting.
He oversees all tactical decisions during warfare and, along with the elder
shaman, determines the best method of fighting the tribe's enemies. He is also
charged with making sure the warriors have their tools and
weapons by governing the craftsmen and
weaponsmiths and making sure there are enough workers to function properly.
Lastly, the elder warrior is responsible for making sure the tribe has adequate
food and that the tribe knows where the good hunting grounds are during the
year.
The elder shaman and elder warrior are chosen from a select few revered and
veteran men (or, in the case of the shaman, sometimes a woman has filled this
role) and typically voted by on by the all of the heads of the families of the
tribe. Each family is led by a man (or, if the man is dead or no longer able to
fulfill the role of leader of the house) or a woman. The meet and decide from a
group of capable leaders and vote.
To become an elder leader, one must show extraordinary skills in leadership
ability. This usually means for the elder warrior, he must be gifted in war and
have had many victories in battle and be a proven leader of men. For the elder
shaman, the process is similar. Usually a wise and worldly person is chosen for
this role. One who is blessed with visions and one who can bestow confidence and
courage to the people. The typical elder shaman is someone gifted in speaking,
interpreting and decision making.
Each family within the tribe is headed by the male who is responsible for
leading his family in the ways of the tribe and is given the order to train his
children and to determine his children's gifts.
Religion. The
Kaaer'dár'shín practice a form of spirit worship and they believe every living
thing possesses a spirit that lives on after death. The tribe holds the
Uon'kh'al'on, or shaman, as head of all spiritual matters in the tribe. The
shaman alone speaks to the spirits and receives from them "visions" and
interprets them for the tribe's other leader, the elder warrior, to follow.
Like their Osther-Oc occupiers, the
Kaaer'dár'shín do not follow a pantheon of gods. That practice was abandoned not
long after the tribes subjugation. The tribe became bitter at having first been
exiled and then enslaved to orcs and decided
that their old gods had abandoned them and were no longer deserving of worship.
They adopted the orcen belief in that they
must owe respect to the spirits indwelled within each person and that the spirit
lives on and is reborn after death.
Despite the abandonment of the All-Father
and the All-Mother, the tribe
reveres a single vague deity known as the Great Spirit in honour. This Great
Spirit maintains the balance in life and death and only communicates with the
shaman. It is thought by outsiders that the visions received from the Great
Spirit are simply hallucinations as a result of the
Ghun'tlor disease, but this
has never been truly verified. Nevertheless, the shaman claims great and
wondrous visions were told to him and interprets them as a sign of blessing or
curse upon the tribe's future.
Production/Trade.
The Kaaer'dár'shín are gifted weaponsmiths and the tribe's craftsmen produce
some of the finest small hand weapons in
the North. The skill of iron working was a skill that the Kaaer'dár'shín brought
with them when they broke from the Kuglimz. Most of
their iron comes from the fallen weapons
of the tribes enemies, the orcs, and the
metal is re-processed in weaponsmithy enclaves. Most of the weaponsmiths are
located in the main Themed'lon colony of Torik.
The tribe's warriors rely on stealth and speed when they fight and have a need
to carry lightweight, smaller weapons.
Among the weapons produced by the
Kaaer'dár'shín are the dagger, throwing knife, hand
axe and short
spear. Each
weapon is crafted to fit the warrior
wielding it and the warrior is charged with keeping his
weapon in excellent condition. While
fully encouraged to use their weapons
against the tribe's enemies, each warrior proudly displays their
weapons and usually a
weapon is passed down through
generations. In the case of the throwing daggers and throwing axes, this is not
always the case, nevertheless, each throwing
weapon is still a finely crafted piece of work.
Kaaer'dár'shín weapons are uncommon
outside of their homeland as the tribe is isolated between two seas and various
orc tribal lands so rarely does a
Kaaer'dár'shín dagger or axe appear outside
of the North. Even if it did, very few people would know the difference anyway
other than the Kaaer'dár'shín weapon is
of excellent craftsmanship.
The Kaaer'dár'shín have a talent for producing exceptional items from animal
hides that are sometimes traded with the neighboring
Imlith dwarves or, under special
circumstances, with the occasional wandering orc
exile. The skin of the Tsor-Shotak
lizard makes an excellent light armour and is highly valued by the few
non-Kaaer'dár'shín who have traded for it. The Kaaer'dár'shín make excellent
blankets and clothing from wison
and woolly boar hide. In the cold
north, having good, warm clothing is paramount to survival.
Natural Resources.
The area surrounding the Themed'lon Forest hosts many natural resources used by
the tribe. The Themed'lon is a large forest, and with the unique distinction of
having the Kaaer'dár'shín as the sole humanoid
tribe living in and around it. The tribe uses the forests trees for a host of
tools, weapons and items.
Bows, tents, homes and shields are all made
from the Themed'lon's woods.
The tribe lives between two large gulfs and thus the Themed'lon colony has an
abundant supply of fresh fish for food. The tribe does not have any kind of
large fishing vessels and fish close to the shore but the seas are abundant with
fish of all kinds.
Horses provide a large service to the
Kaaer'dár'shín. The tribe catches and breeds the
Landesh pony chiefly because this
animal is small in relation to the larger
horses of the North and strong in build. The Kaaer'dár'shín favour stealth
and speed when fighting and the
Landesh provides both due to its size and strength. The Kaaer'dár'shín
people are shorter than an average man of other tribes and a large
horse would prove a disadvantage to
them.
The
Landesh are
caught along the Heaths to the north and south of the Themed'lon. A group of
warriors will form a hunting party and catch a group of male and female ponies
to bring back to the tribe's breeding stockades for domestication and training.
The Kaaer'dár'shín have kept the long tradition and skill of the
Kuglimz horse training skills and are also exceptional
horse breeders and trainers. Unlike
their orcen cousins, the Kaaer'dár'shín do
not eat horse meat.
Festivals.
There are three main festivals the Kaaer'dár'shín celebrate:
Feast
of Horkcha
This feast is an annual feast celebrated in the spring by the entire tribe. A
massive fire pit is constructed near the
Themed'lon colony and the women and children spend many days constructing spits
for roasting entire boar. Fifty warriors gather on horseback and with the
blessing of the shaman, they go forth into the plains and hunt
woolly boar. Each of the fifty
warriors is expected to bring back one
woolly boar for the feast. When all fifty warriors have returned with a
boar, the feast begins with roasting each one over the pit and eaten afterwards.
The feast celebrates the hunt and if all fifty warriors return, it is a sign of
a blessed year to come.
Festival of the Pit Horn
Another festival celebrating the warriors is the Festival of the Pit Horn.
During this festival, held in the winter months, all able bodied warriors gather
and up to three warriors on horseback are placed in a fenced off arena. A
single, large male wison is
loosed in the arena and the warriors are given the challenge of subduing and
killing the wison with a short
sword or
spear. If the warriors successfully kill
the wison, they are celebrated
for their bravery and ability to work together. Should they fail, they are
replaced with new warriors and the losers are dishonored for up to seven days
with the chance to try again next year.
Dance
of the Tusk
This festival is celebrated by the women of the clan. It is held twice a year,
in the summer and winter, when all of the clans women and girls create beautiful
dresses and cloaks in honor of the spirits. The cloaks are decorated with beads,
bones, animal tusks, feathers and paint. The women gather for six days and,
accompanied by a group of up to twelve drummers, the women dance in celebration
of their role in the tribe and are honoured by the men and boys. A feast
accompanies this dance, usually fish and
Tsor-Shotak lizard is eaten.
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