Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:41:15Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Kin'toni clan
|Name = Erchao Kin'toni Clan
|Other Names = Unknown
|Parent Groups = None
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Demonym = Unknown
|Languages = Unknown
|Religions = Unknown
|Government Type = Unknown
|Population = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Garhon Infertile Wastes]]
|Allies = Unknown
|Rivals = Unknown
|Date Founded = 4E 401
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

The Erchao kin’toni clan was one of the clans who didn’t join Magdar’s [[Eawa Kin'toni Clan]] and decided to settle in the [[Garhon Infertile Wastes]], around an oasis. They brought their cattle with them and built huts under the shade of the palm trees of the oasis. The water of the oasis was a sparkling blue, refreshing in the heat of the desert. The animals drank it and ate the grass from around it. The kin’toni drank the blood of their animals. All went smoothly for a few years; the kin’toni developed by attacking many zu’aan tribes and turning them to become a part of their clan.

I suppose that’s why the Erchao faced such a downfall. Some of the kin’toni began dying of illness, such a disease that it turned their bodies blue and in the kin’toni’s last hours, tears of blood ran down their cheeks. Their animals had also started dying from this disease, their legs and bodies turning pale blue and also cried tears of blood in their last moments. The kin’toni were becoming increasingly frustrated now and decided to investigate the cause of this illness.

The kin’toni only drank blood and ate meat, their animals’ meat. Their animals were also dying from the similar symptoms the kin’toni showed. The kin’toni only consumed their animals’ meat and blood and so only the animals could be the cause of it. But what could have caused such a disease in the animals? The answer was found in the water of the oasis. The water had turned a mossy green color by now and it was the only source of water for the animals. This water was found to be containing poison. T

he poison was the reason their animals were getting sick and dying and in turn the kin’toni were also dying of immense pain. This poison was put in the water by the zu’aan. One of the tribes of the zu’aan, which had been attacked and most of its people got turned, had taken revenge for it. They had come soundlessly in the daylight, when all the kin’toni were in their huts and had put the poison in the water. This had caused many animals to die and also a few kin’toni, who died writhing in pain.

They couldn’t survive in this area anymore and had to leave. They became nomads for some time and tried to settle in some area. Every territory they sought solace in had already been conquered or was deep in the zu’aan territory. This clan had lost its kin’toni and animals and was now a weak clan, they couldn’t risk getting invaded by the zu’aan on top of all that so they kept on the move ever since. They tried to go to the other clans for help but were turned away. The kin’toni only have loyalty to their own clan members, they don’t care for the others.

All their misery gave way to hate and rage against the zu’aan who had brought them to this fall. They vowed to take revenge and kept this fire of rage alive in their hearts. They vowed that they wont just kill the zu’aan but torture them in the worst ways possible. They captured many on their journeys and gave them the worst kind of treatments; they burned them alive, drove stakes and left them bleeding. That is how this clan still lives; on the move. They travel and try to torture and murder as many zu’aan they can.

==Biology==

The Erchao are adapted to the dead, open [[Garhon Infertile Wastes]]. Their bodies are shorter, with a stocky build and short legs. This is an adaption to being able to be able to dig shallow holes or press close to the ground to avoid the harsh sun and biting wind. Their body profile is adapted for a low profile, not for agility or speed, making them slower and less agile then other clans. Their skin is dark brown with mottled beige areas. With high levels of pigmentation to help absorb and scatter UV rays before they become dangerous.

This gives them some resistance from sunlight. The skin is also thick, leathery and coated in small beige scales to resist the sharp matter and sand from the common sandstorms of the Wastes. The back, outside of the arms and the outside of the legs have the largest scales that form overlapping plates. The smallest scales are on the front of their torso and insides of legs/arms. Their scalp is coated in scales, optimized to keep sunlight off the scalp. Their eyes are sandy-beige, but are not special by kin'toni standards.

Their ears are long, and point up and away from the head. The openings of their ears and noses have stiff, fine hairs, that are used as a filter against fine dust and sand without weakening their hearing. Their sense of direction is hyper-accurate, from cochlea production. This is used to navigate the vast, wind-swept and featureless landscapes that lack landmarks. The enhanced cochleas are overtuned in such a way that makes them very sensitive to seismic vibrations. This makes faults disorienting and painful.

The sense of smell is normal for a kin'toni. Their jaws are short, with slender, curved canines, adapted for small prey. The rest of their teeth are also pointed, slender and curved as to help with this. Their claws are short, curved and sharp, for catching small prey. Their legs are muscular and adapted to walking long distances, not for speed. Inside, their hepatic cell clots are hyper-developed to rapidly filter and break down environmental toxins and heavy metals that they consume.

Their blood vessels are deep under the skin, with heavy valves as to prevent rapid cooling/heating from the extreme thermal changes of the desert. These enhanced filtering organs, along with stem cell regeneration, makes them immune to most poisons native to the Wastes. Their bodies are focused on maintaining cellular integrity, not on being strong. Due to the fact there are large amounts of environmental stress such as UV and toxins, their stem cell energy is focused on enduring, not on healing.

This leads to a slowed regeneration of massive injuries like lost limbs. This lead to incredible stamina and resistance to damage from their environment, but lacking much of superhuman strength of the other clans. Their bones are dense, mineral reinforced and thick, along with such adaptions to tissues. This allows them to be resistant to concussive shock and disorientation, but makes them too heavy to swim, forcing them to walk on the bottom of bodies of water.

==Culture==

The Erchao kin’toni clan is the one of the most brutal and bloodthirsty of all kin’toni. They even worship a God who they believe has sent them here to torture and murder zu’aan. They honor him by presenting him with zu’aan blood, cries and screams. Their festivals are all about celebrating their conquests. These kin’toni are nomads and thus, don’t have a permanent residence. Their houses are tents which can be set up and taken apart to be carried easily.

In case of rain, they line the top of their tents with animal skins that prevents the water from seeping inside. They don’t have to build fires as they eat their food raw. In this tribe zu’aan blood is more commonly available than the blood of animals and its stored in receptables made of goat or sheep skins. They wear anything found in their raids and invasions on the zu’aan which means they wear zu’aan clothing. This can be misleading to anyone who isn’t near enough to see the difference and it's often too late by the time they realize their mistake.

They carry their weapons with them wherever they go. They either strap their weapons to their backs or have the small ones hidden in their clothes. Jewelry is also zu’aan made and worn, it now has bloodstains on it, which are seen as a token of appreciation here. After the outbreak of kin’toni, the zu’aan didn’t have time to make jewelry, they had to scramble for food while keeping an eye out for bloodthirsty kin’toni. Jewelry is rare for them and only the highest ranked wear them.

Thus, when these kin’toni are seen wearing those jewelry, it is immediately known that this kin’toni managed to get to a leader of the zu’aan. The Erchao wearing jewelry of such types are highly respected. The weapons this clan uses can be spears, axes or daggers but they mostly use their own nails and fangs. They say that lets them ‘feel’ what they do. They usually run shouting their God's name to the wind whenever they are invading. They just love to kill zu’aan, they don’t even spare children.

They don’t know what children are, just that they are tiny zu’aan and that their pain can put their parents in pain too, so they hurt them just because of that. These kin’toni are completely wild and are often seen fighting amongst themselves. Always pushing and shouting. They don’t even wash often, only until they reach a stream or some other waterbody. Their festivals are also violent like them. They celebrate ‘Ja Fiasmana’, which comes once in a year. It’s a festival which honors their God and the conquests they have accomplished.

They capture hundreds of zu’aan for that day and joyfully commit acts of absolute butchery to them. They impale them, cut off their limbs, watch them writhe in pain and jump and dance around them all the while. They even hand a chosen zu’aan a small knife and then ask him/her to fight against one kin’toni. It isn’t much of a match as the zu’aan is mostly weak from days of capture and torture and also that the kin’toni facing them is an eager bloodthirsty kin’toni.

This night is followed by other similar gruesome events, which cement the Erchao kin’toni as one of the most ruthless and barbaric clans.

==Government==

In this clan no one is hierarchically superior and has any sort of supreme authority. One thing the Erchao are known for is their brotherhood. Here decisions are made on common consent and approval by the majority. Unlike the other clans, there isn’t a particular responsibility given to anyone, they all work together and share the food equally amongst themselves. Everyone is treated equally, whether it is for getting supplies or dealing out punishments.

This clan is a small one and consists of 50 people. The majority of this clan’s kin’toni are originals. Their tasks are dealt with according to their area of expertise. 10 of these kin’toni are hunters. This group contains male and female kin’toni alike. They are skilled hunters who are responsible for hunting down animals for blood and food. They provide food for the whole clan. These kin’toni are talented hunters who are experienced in the art of camouflaging themselves.

They have to hunt at night since they can’t stand sunlight. The animals are well hidden and resting in the bushes, ditches and up on the trees. Despite all this, the kin’toni are practiced in hunting them down. They use their heightened senses to detect where the prey is and how big it could be and then act accordingly. They throw their spears with absolute precision to hunt animals perching on trees. They also go inside caves to catch zalak (bear-like lifeforms) for their meals. The kin’toni are at the top of the food chain and with their abilities and cleverness, they have managed to stay that way.

10 more kin’toni are under the task of hunting and capturing zu’aan. The zu’aan travel in groups for protection against the kin’toni. They always keep an eye out for these creatures. Every kin’toni’s eyes glitter and stand out against the darkness of the night. This can give away their location. These kin’toni are especially skilled making themselves completely undetectable in hunting these zu’aan. They are also regarded as the ‘holy order’ who take pleasure in hunting and torturing zu’aan.

They claim they do all this to please their God Feris. They take them as slavers and feed on them on a daily basis but never enough to grant them the release of death. There are 15 kin’toni for the duties of the force which guards the clan day and night. They change shifts and stay to the shadows mostly. 4 kin’toni are responsible to stay a few miles ahead and on a higher ground of the travelling clan to alert them and avoid danger. The clan also has a highly valuable and skilled medic.

He has been pardoned from his charges at the cost that he has to serve this clan by being their medic for the rest of his days. He used to patch up the kin’toni before, but now this is his permanent job. He is trained for healing wounds, injuries, infections and illnesses. He also has 5 students under him who he passes his knowledge onto. The students are still learning and aren’t even near the skills the medic has. Because this medic is the only one in the clan, he is always heavily guarded as he is essential and irreplaceable.

The craftsmen group consists of 8 kin’toni. 2 are the ones who lay ideas and designs and the others create them. There are woodcarvers, weapon makers, and the ones who design their tents etc. A tailor is also part of this group. Despite anarchy, everyone in this clan is skilled and equipped. They all do what they can do best. Each role is equally important and everyone is equally respected and have their own areas of expertise. Everyone’s opinion matters and decisions are based on the voice of the majority.

==Military==

The Erchao clan is a really small one and a wild one. Both male and female kin’toni are a part of their military. The kin’toni are always allowed to choose their group according to their area of expertise. Many choose to join their army. These kin’toni are always on the move, so their army has to be ready for any kind of trouble. The army contains about 35 kin’toni, which is quite a large proportion for a clan of 50. There are kin’toni for the hunt forces, whether it is for food or zu’aan.

The next is the defense and the lookout forces. All of these kin’toni are part of the army force. The defense force is made up of 15 kin’toni who are always on the lookout for any unusual activity around the clan. They work with the lookout force, of 4 kin’toni, and use their abilities to eliminate threats and warn the clan. There are always threats of invasions as this clan has no definite place to stay permanently and so, don’t have a setup defense system. Thus, their defense force is a really important one and is composed of the best combat trained kin’toni of their clan.

The hunting forces are the ones who hunt for food and zu’aan. These forces are also the ones who invade the zu’aan tribes. They are clever kin’toni who plan strategically and even despite their less numbers, manage to wreak havoc on the zu’aan. Each kin’toni has their own weapons and they always have their weapons on hand. Their weapons are mostly battleaxes. It’s handles are custom designed and carved by their talented craftsmen. They also have spears which are known to never break during battle.

They keep small daggers on hand and strapped to their clothing. These kin’toni are always battle ready as protection is required at all times and it is necessary that each and every kin’toni be able to defend themselves. They train night and day, overcoming numerous obstacles. The kin’toni are already quite strong due to their hard life of traveling and fighting. They’ve endured many harsh weather conditions and attacks on their clan and it has only made them stronger and more willing to train.

They also have some kin’toni who are good at spy work. They enter the zu’aan tribes disguised as other zu’aan and gather information on them. They take information on their routine, training and population and then report back to their clan. This helps them strategize and plan their attacks accordingly. There are probably 7 people in this force. They aren’t officially a force but everyone in the clan knows them by sight alone. They are lean in built and move really fast, they also have the tendency to slip away easily without the others noticing.

The treatment of captured zu’aan is worth mentioning too. These kin’toni consider themselves blessed to be able to be the only ones who their God Feris gifted with this ‘holy mission’ to be able to torture and kill zu’aan. They don’t often turn them but instead keep them collared and in chains. They are given beatings and are used for training purposes. Their wounds are never treated and they mostly die from infections and blood loss. The Engocha are a small but clever clan who haven’t let their past get the best of them.

==Religion==

The kin’toni of the Erchao clan worship their God Feris. They worship him from a time before their clan suffered from the poison a zu’aan had put in the clan’s oasis, and the devastation following that action. Their belief was that Feris had sent them on Taerel to rid it of zu’aan. They invaded their tribes and cities and murdered them mercilessly. Enjoyed watching the blood bleed out of their bodies. Took pleasure in their pain. They claimed that they did this all for the purpose of pleasing Feris.

A zu’aan took revenge for the many the kin’toni had so easily killed, by poisoning their oasis. When the kin’toni discovered that their clan members had died because of what a minor zu’aan had done, they vowed to destroy all zu’aan in every way possible, that death would be too kind for them and they don’t deserve it. They have become wanderers, nomads now, who have no place to call their own. They keep traveling from one place to another praying to Feris to give them more opportunities to kill zu’aan.

The Feris demands blood, violence and zu’aan screams as offerings and this the kin’toni of the Erchao clan try to give as much as they can. Their tactics to invade are random and often unpredictable. They are the most brutal of all clans. They have no conscience and are known to have the most brutal of all methods of torture. A zu’aan getting captured by them is simply done for. They never stay in the same place for long, as they are a small clan and prefer to kill zu’aan than turn them.

Their size may be small but their rage isn’t. The flame for vengeance burns bright in their hearts. They travel from place to place, challenging zu’aan or invading them. They say that their God demands that they travel all over the world doing this ‘holy work’. They have one more God who they offer their sacrifices to, the one they believe has guided them in their journeys. Her name is Ita. She is the Goddess who they believe has given them strength in their darkest days, the one who helped them find the way to zu’aan civilizations.

They believe that it is she who has kept them safe from harsh weathers. Their faith in her is unwavering. No matter how weatherbeaten or starved they may be, their faith in her gives them the strength to move on. They believe that Ita guides them on their journeys. They navigate their journeys by a star which is the biggest and the brightest of them all. That star prevents them from getting lost. So, if one day they aren’t able to see that star anywhere in the sky, they think that Ita must be angry with them. They get down on their knees and pray to her.

They face the star’s direction and bow down it asking for forgiveness to whatever evil they might have done. They stay in that position till the first rays of the sun peek through the horizon. If the star is found on the next night, they know that they have been forgiven, if not, then they keep praying.

==Miscellany==

The Erchao are always on the move. They don’t stay in one place for more than 3 days. They have been wandering like this for decades and have traveled through many different regions by now. They’ve been through intense heat and harsh winters. They wandered through forests and deserts. All the while raiding and attacking zu’aan tribes and if possible, cities. They keep close watch on the zu’aan tribes and mostly attack when its midnight, when most of the zu’aan are likely to be asleep.

They wear zu’aan clothing but fit and stretchy ones, which are suitable for fighting. They alter these clothing to their own liking, adding hidden nooks for small blades. This is popular with the female kin’toni of the clan who conceal daggers in the folds of their suits. The males prefer to carry their weapons openly and have axes and spears strapped to themselves. The kin’toni alter the zu’aan clothing from a master tailor in their clan. This kin’toni first started making their clothes when they first started traveling.

Some kin’toni died during their long and hard journeys because of the extreme weather conditions. This kin’toni had the idea to use a special method for making clothes such that the body suits are perfect for any weather condition, be it hot or cold. These clothes are also able to prevent dehydration as they prevent water loss by evaporation. This helps as the areas they travel through are often really hot even in the night, the aftermath of a particularly boiling day.

These kin’toni also have the tradition of piercing their tongues when they make their first kill. Their clan consists of mostly originals but this tradition is kept for all kin’toni. The punishment for treason and disloyalty to clan members is simply brutal. The kin’toni could cut off the limbs of the disgraced kin’toni, or cut them deeply everyday for a period of time chosen by the clan’s leaders and let them bleed. They all do this to their own clan members, the zu’aan face much worst.

Certain offenses are simply unpardonable like giving away secrets and plans and their punishments are no less than being turned inside out alive. The turned kin’toni which were previously zu’aan are also punished. For just being zu’aan before. That’s the first of their ‘crimes’, the charges even higher for other punishments. Even minor offenses such as stealing food can be punished brutally, many times by just giving them beatings and letting them heal on their own, without the aid of a medic.

The medic of this clan used to be a regular kin’toni who was accused of spying on them. They punished him severely and ordered him to become the badly needed medic of the clan as he did possess the skills needed for that. The medic isn’t allowed to go on hunts and raids. He is also required to teach other kin’toni about this work of his. This clan is a wild clan where the law and order are bloodshed. This law doesn’t spare the originals and the turned are treated with the worst of treatments.

{{NearbyGroups
| Centre = {{PAGENAME}}
| North = Unknown
| Northeast = Unknown
| East = Unknown
| Southeast = Unknown
| South = Unknown
| Southwest = Unknown
| West = Unknown
| Northwest = Unknown
}}

{{CrossSiteAttribution
| User = [https://www.freelancer.co.uk/u/SamihaQadri Syeda Samiha Qadri], Stevie Lambert (biology)
| Holder = Syeda Samiha Qadri, Stevie Lambert
}}

[[Category:5th-century Twilight Age kin'toni clans]]
[[Category:Syeda Samiha Qadri's contributions]]

Erchao Kin'toni Clan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)