Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:41:03Z

(via JWB)

New page

{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Kin'toni clan
|Name = Estard Kin'toni Clan
|Parent Groups = Unknown
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Old'lye Sludgepit]]
|Date Founded = 4E 399
|Date Disbanded = Unknown
}}

==History==

The Estard clan started off with a handful of kin’toni who knew of an abandoned zu’aan city. They initially chose to reside there after the breakout. This entire city was abandoned by zu’aan who had fled, leaving a great many resources behind. The kintoni assumed that they would be left to themselves giving them full rein of the place. They thought that they would be able to live with this liberty but with time a few zu’aan groups came and started inhabiting this city. At first the zu’aan immigrant population was low so these kin’toni turned some of them and told them to join their clan. They fed on the rest of them who had died trying to fight them.

This happened around the time of harsh winters and so the kin’toni had little food and couldn’t keep animals because of the unavailability of sunlight and thus, ate the zu’aan instead. The zu’aan had brought along with them some special species of animals that were adapted to this cold and could survive easily. They kept them in the little patches of greenery in this cold season. The kin’toni took full advantage of this and attacked frequently. They took their animals and supplies for themselves and turned most of these zu’aan.

They lived like this for sometime until a huge group of zu’aan immigrants moved here. They had been driven out of their homes and had most likely fought many kin’toni on their way, to seek refuge here. This cemented the fact that they were battle-hard and won’t be as easy to defeat as the previous zu’an had been. The kin’toni didn’t have enough brute force to turn or attack all of them. The zu’aan began to start their life in this city and were prepared to hunt these kin’toni down. In the beginning, when a kin’toni was spotted amongst them, they would burn them alive, skin them and then kill them.

This slowly drove the kin’toni underground. They discovered that area more thoroughly. The zu’aan population grew and a day came when the kin’toni had to go completely underground. They had to build their lives around that place. They built a whole underground city there. These kin’toni are mere thieves now. They aren’t like the other kin’toni clans; powerful and large in number. They survive by stealing from the zu’aan under the cover of the night. They raid their city. Their ways of blending in with the zu’aan are extraordinary; they have applied wax to their skin in order to protect themselves from the sunlight and are now able to stand under it for a brief period of time.

They have grounded their fangs using metal, to seem like zu’aan and can hide amongst them. They have even learnt to force down the vegetables the zu’aan eat so that they can blend easily. They don’t stay for long there, just disappear mysteriously in the night, nabbing some supplies for their fellows and come back to the zu’aan before dawn. This doesn’t arouse suspicion and the spy kin’toni is able to maintain cover. This of course, makes the life of the kin’toni really hard, but for all to survive, someone must make the sacrifice.

==Biology==

The Estard are adapted to the dirty, toxic [[Old'lye Sludgepit]]. They are long limbed, broad shouldered, with long arms,a and large hands and feet. Their hips are tall and narrow. This is an adaption for swimming though pools of toxic sluge. Their skin is murky greens and browns as to hide in the pools and is thick and chitinous. The skin produces an hydrophobic oil,to give an total immunity against the Sludgepit's corrosive acids and petrochemical runoff. They are hairless, as to avoid collecting sludge.

Their eyes are bulbous and black, with an inverse iris that maximizes the capture of the faint phosphorescent light of underground fungal blooms. Their ears are short, pointed and flat to the head to avoid dragging in the sludge. Their teeth are many, small, sharp needles as to catch the fish that live in the polluted water. The clan has can produce a form of bio-cement from their mouths. This is used to bound detritus and silt into waterproof dome dwellings for shelter. It is costly to produce this bio-cement, eating away at fat reserves.

Their noses are slits flat to the face, and are adapted with "shields" to keep out water. Their faces have highly sensitive tentacles, adapted to detect minute thermal shifts. This allows them to find prey and to avoid superheated chemical runoff hidden beneath the surface. Their vocal cords are adapted to produce low-frequency subsonic clicks, travelling well though the dense sludge. This are used as a form of commutation. Due to this adaption, the clan struggle to speak common languages.

Their hands have chitinous plates on the front of their fingers, to protect from the sludge. The undersides have grip pads formed from small plates of chitin. Their hand claws are long and hardened, with piezoelectric properties. This means they can generate weak electrical pulses used to confuse the fish of the region. Theif fore-arms have specialized glands that store concentrated toxins absorbed from the sludge. This can be sprayed out as an paralyzing spray against territorial rivals.

Their feet are large, webbed, splayed and triple-jointed. These feet have microscopic suction pads. These are used for silent, non-slip movement across slick, vertical slopes of congealed waste. The clan has on their chests a large number of spiracles sealed by osmotic membranes. These filter the air from the heavy metal particulates and methane gas, allowing them to breathe underwater and in dense chemical fog. The digestive tract is adapted to filter mineral deposits and break down petroleum byproducts for essential nourishment using specialized archaea.

Their kidneys are adapted to have an xtremely efficient recycling system. This allows them to draw water from metabolic processes as to avoid drinking the contaminated water. Their circulatory system is specialized for near freezing operation, to allow them to survive sudden immersion in cryogenic runoff. This also allows them to retain body heat well in the cold sludge. Like many clans, they if things go bad, they can enter a state of torpor, allowing them to slowing their metabolism. This means they can surive weeks on fat reserves.

==Culture==

There are about a 100 kin’toni in the Estard clan. The Estard kin’toni live underground in an abandoned subway below the city of the zu’aan. The zu’aan of this city have no idea that the kin’toni live so near them and they intend to keep it that way. These kin’toni are excellent spies and have disguised themselves as zu’aan and live alongside them. All of them wear zu’aan clothing, even the ones who stay in their underground city and rarely come out. The Estards are thieves and steal their supplies from the zu’aan, they rarely make things themselves. Their supplies, the livestock they raise, other food supplies, etc. all comes from the zu’aan’s city.

The walls of their underground city are lined with torches to illuminate the dark tunnels. The main city sector consists of rows of abandoned train carriages which now serve as these kin’toni’s homes. They have many tunnels leading from this main sector which branches off to different exits and secret passages. The walls of their underground city are full of carvings and drawings; they take pride in their history, in their success and in their extraordinary evolution. They believe themselves to be fearless and uncannily smart.

Even smarter than the zu’aan who couldn’t detect the kin’toni’s presence in their own city. Their wall murals reflect all this. The kin’toni have a tradition to tell stories to each other this way, using these pictures to highlight their own bravery and tell others about how daring their members are to embrace such a challenge. To risk their lives, walk the zu’aan city dressed as commoners and pretend to be comrades. All so that they could gather intelligence and steal their own ‘rightful’ city back from the zu’aan.

On the longest night of the year, when the zu’aan have gone to sleep, the kin’toni secretly leave their hideout and gather at an old forsaken temple which is situated at a cliff a few miles from their city. The spy kin’toni from the zu’aan city are also told to attend this ritual. Thus, this is the only time the whole clan completely reunites. They commemorate their reunion. A meeting is held in this temple and they first discuss the progress, new strategies and their new plans. They also share their experiences and reflect on the way the year has gone.

This is usually done by their leaders. It is sort of a festival where victories and successes are celebrated. This night is called ‘Ultimo’ and is a great event which involves feasts and dancing too. Another festival is also celebrated by the Estards. It is held in the first week of the last month of a kin’toni year. It marks the end of the year celebration. It is called as ‘Claraus’ as on this day shooting stars or meteor showers are observed. This festival is also called as ‘The festival of goodwill’. The ruling Estard family makes their way to their forsaken temple using their tunnels, which are lit with a special torch fire that glows red.

The tunnel is lit with 101 of these burners and casts red shadows all over the passage. On this day the leaders stand in front of a raised dais and are presented with zu’aan in chains. These had been captured by the clan’s best hunters. These zu’aan are murdered by the clan’s leaders and they paint themselves with the blood of these, now dead, zu’aan. this act is taken as a righteous deed and is believed to bless the clan and protect them all from misfortunes in the upcoming year till this festival is celebrated again.

The royals then host a dinner at their residence back in their city. The individuals they have invited are allowed to invite their own guests according to will. The leaders are known to dress in long robes of midnight black with a silver belt and hooded cloaks which conceals their faces entirely. These royals always keep their faces hidden this way and have never been seen without their cloaks. There are many rumors associated with this which suggest that the leaders might have been badly scarred in a zu’aan attack long ago.

==Government==

This kin’toni clan has a kin’toni family which leads. They used to be zu’aan but were turned. They were turned out of the zu’aan tribes by the people they loved. Their own abandoned them. This kindled a fire that was born of misery and hatred. This family began recruiting all these turned kin’toni and formed a clan. Now the clan consists of turned kin’toni. None of these are the originals. The leaders of this clan used to be a zu’aan family. Now, the mother, father and their two sons are the core tyrants. Their underground territory is so vast, it stretches on for miles. To maintain order, each member of the family controls a particular area.

Each individual makes rules for their own region. However former clan members are independent. They have their sentinel army consisting of trusted comrades. This family rules over them all by moulding and wielding fear and hatred. They know that the kin’toni fear the zu’aan but also that they want revenge for the wrongs done to them and they would go through anything to make that possible. The citizens of this underground city are familiar with the tales of violence and survival of their leaders. This gives the leaders the leverage to channel the rage of these kin’toni to take over the zu’aan city.

There is no room for traitors in this clan and the government provides no safe haven. They simply turn them out of this clan and abandon them to the mercy of the others. Here, individuals make decisions for themselves, for their safety. This clan consists of mostly families that were turned when their area was attacked. Women here are not allowed to work. Most women serve the lady and work under her i.e. work for her. They are only allowed to live in the women dominated areas in the underground city. The men work. Either as smugglers, thieves, spies, or deceivers who tread the above ground.

If these men have a family to feed, they provide for them. If they are individuals, they serve their leader, the one that rules their territory. The leaders have all other basic rights, they get to choose who they keep in the clan. They decide about the trials for law breakers. There are guards posted at every entrance to the underground city. They have the escape tunnels that they have built over the years and have situated guards at its passageways too. The weaponry is mostly in possession of the leaders, only a few of them self-made. The others were stolen in the dead of the night from zu’aan officials.

These tunnels had a built-in emergency systems. This is a gong located in the middle of the whole underground system. Its loud enough that the all kin’toni who are underground would be able to hear it but the zu’aan above can’t. This is sounded in case of emergency meetings or any other trouble. The people of this clan are each given toxic tablets. It is against their code of conduct to give away any information related to their clan, location of hiding out, or any plans. Therefore, before the kin’toni give in to any degree of torture they are strictly ordered to ingest the pills.

These pills cause their mouth to froth and boil their blood causing immediate death.

==Military==

The Estard military largely consists of kin’toni who are personal guards of the leaders of the clan. Each leader has their own personal guards amounting to atleast 5. These remain with the leaders at all times. The men have male guards and the lady kin’toni has women guards. Each member of the Estard family owns 20 guards that scout their territory. Out of these guards, 6 patrol all entrances and exits in the area. There is a community of 10 sentinels also belonging to Ductor, the supreme leader of them all, who is the father of the two commanders who rule the east and west sectors of the underground city.

These sentinel guards are posted at the temple, they remain there at all times. They work in shifts and at a time 5 of these guards are on duty and every week, these men are exchanged. The weary ones are allowed a week’s rest while the others patrol the temple. They are supposed to fend for themselves. They have to hunt for food and keep the temple presentable as it is a place of great appraise. This work of these kin’toni requires much more effort than just standing still and guarding a door. The kin’toni who do this job are given praise and high ranks for their services.

Perhaps the most outstanding force of the Estards is their spy force. The clan is based on all their efforts. These kin’toni risk their lives and stay with the zu’aan, just so they could gather enough information to one day conquer this city from the inside out. Spy work is a work of patience and dedication, and these kin’toni know that well. They have spent decades perfecting their techniques of blending in with the zu’aan that now some of their best spy kin’toni are even high ranked officials in the zu’aan city. All sectors of the underground clan praise on this work and devote resources and time to polish it.

They have added many turned kin’toni to this force who also go to the other well-established zu’aan cities to learn of their workings. Because of their spy force, they have been able to provide food for themselves. They use their secret tunnels to transport the stolen livestock and other supplies. The only way the kin’toni of this clan can make their living standards better is to get jobs in the leader’s palace. If a kin’toni can get a job for being a personal guard of the leaders, then they have found success. These guards are given the best supplies from the raids and the freshest slices of meat to eat too.

There is special training given to all kin’toni in all sectors. The female kin’toni hope to achieve success by becoming the personal guards of the lady and they train very hard for this purpose. The leaders have their own hunters and they present them with fresh zu’aan blood and raw meat, once a week. The royalties prefer to have their food uncooked. The other days of the week, they feed on animal blood and meat.

==Religion==

The Estard Kin’toni clan are known as shadow worshippers. As many zu’aan are known to worship fire and light, this clan stands in stark contrast and worships and preaches shadow. This clan is known to practice dark arts as they call upon the dark forces that’s the shadows. They do this by burning zu’aan bone and mingling those ashes with their own blood by giving themselves a cut on their palm and pressing those ashes to it. this ritual takes place in their forsaken temple on the day of their festivals. They started to worship shadows in the very beginning of their days.

The first of the Estards made their way to this zu’aan city seeking refuge from a zu’aan delegation that was after them. It was a full moon’s night. The land beyond was mercilessly barren, offering no cover. There was no hope of ever reaching a safe haven. They knew that they were all going to die at the hands of these zu’aan. It was then in just another moment, the clouds while at motion, obscured the moon from vision completely. It was a dark shadow cast. It only lasted for a few minutes but it was enough. It provided enough cover, enough darkness, that they escaped unseen. They left behind that blood-thirsty zu’aan.

Ever since then they preach to no one but the god of darkness, the god of shadows. The one that offered them cover, the one who had saved them. The site where this particular event occurred was a cliff not far from the city where these kin’toni now reside. So, all their traditions and the annual meeting take place on this cliff. Every year on this day they narrate their accounts of that night; the stink of inevitable death in the air, the promise of bloodshed and the zu’aan slowly closing in on them. And then their escape. Each individual is offered a goblet of zu’aan blood. Then keeping to tradition, they fast for the next 22 hours.

In the beginning, the kin’toni used to ask the shadow god, Simulacrum, for opinion and advice for every single thing. But it didn’t take much longer for them to find out that the shadow god cannot be summoned against its will. They would wait days at a time, waiting for the shadow to appear, to approve, to listen. They would speak their doubts and deeds aloud then wait for the shadow to be cast. This tradition changed with time as it became obvious that the shadow god only arrives and leaves as it wills. The Estards now use their secret passage to get to their forsaken temple easily and pray to this god.

They do know that Simulacrum comes and goes as it wishes but while praying, they hope that it might make itself seen and come to their aid. They are careful not let any zu’aan see them and usually come under the cover of the dark. Their motto is to rid the world of zu’aan as they believe it is their god’s wish and they have to abide by it. Lighting a fire is considered as disrespectful, especially massive fires, as shadows are associated with the dark and its forces. Thus, they are known to thrive in the absence of light.

==Miscellany==

The Estard clan lives directly below the zu’aan city of Keharal-Darka. This area consists of many underground tracks that the zu’aan don’t know exist. This underground territory of theirs has several hidden entrances at various locations above grounds in the main city. Most of these are abandoned or are otherwise secret hidden locations so a zu’aan wouldn’t have any clue about them. This is how the kin’toni can enter and leave without being seen and no one gets suspicious about them. They are also fast on their feet, which helps them immensely in quickly moving without drawing attention to themselves.

These secret passageways have their openings in unsuspecting places like the middle of a railway track behind a wrecked engine. One is also behind a giant statue built in the middle of a ruined fountain that used to spurt water in a beautiful display of showers. The passage to the underground region can also be found in places like abandoned homes, inside an old grandfather clock no one has bothered to look in. The entrances are wide enough that the kin’toni can easily steal animals and boxes of supplies, and then transport them that quickly to their underground homes.

Their territory is huge and spread wide below the zu’aan city, which means that they have to be on their guard more and can’t be seen going in or out or they would lead the zu’aan directly to their home. The underground city tunnels are lined with fire torches as these kin’toni don’t have the night vision the other kin’toni do, because they have spent most of their time with the zu’aan and standing in the sun. It is believed that the glare of the sun was responsible to weaken these kin’toni’s night vision senses. This of course requires them to find ways to conceal their identity. They do have sand-coloured skin but its slightly pale too, which means they have to cover it up using coal dust power.

This also means that they have to avoid water or it might wash away this powder. Their methods to hide amongst the zu’aan are simply brilliant and that is the reason they have managed to live amongst the zu’aan for decades without them ever noticing. The kin’toni have tried to blend in the best as they could; They dress like the zu’aan, do jobs like the zu’aan do and even went as far as to eat the food that the zu’aan consume. All this so they could never be suspected of being kin’toni. They have also associated with many zu’aan and are now a lively part of the zu’aan community.

These kin’toni live mostly in fear of being hunted and found out. The ones that live amongst the zu’aan, above land, are stranded and highly vulnerable. They have been ordered that if they are ever found out, they must never run to the underground city, for the fear of leading the zu’aan there and bringing ruination to all kin’toni. They are required to run to the forests in case they are ever discovered. The kin’toni know that the zu’aan would torture them in the worst of ways if they are captured so their only choice is to stay hidden, secretly planning the rise of the Estards and the end of the zu’aan.

{{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:4th-century Twilight Age kin'toni clans]]
[[Category:Syeda Samiha Qadri's contributions]]

Estard Kin'toni Clan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)