Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-08T10:16:13Z

(via JWB)

New page

{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Zu'aan tribe
|Name = Garraykel Tribal zu'aan
|Parent Groups = N/A
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Vesld Snowy Blue Taiga]]
|Date Founded = 4E 283
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

The Garraykel Tribal zu'aan is born with a direct correlation from the Johir Tribal zu'aan, where, in the year of 4E 283, during the Johir's exodus towards the region of Sebuhe, being led by Calalith Johir, they faced what is now for the Johir's history a legendary blizzard, a blizzard which basically knocked away a group of kin'toni which pursued after the Johir and erased their traces, allowing them to finish their travels to the liveable parts of the Sebuhe region, landing in the Sebuhe Snowy Blue Taiga.

But, for the ancestors of the Garraykel tribe, this blizzard didn't have the same miraculous effect, instead, being seen as the very opposite. Before explaining such event, it is first necessary to establish where the Garraykel tribe's ancestors were and how they're linked to this, well, it just turns out that in the very back of the travelling members of what would become the Johir Tribal zu'aan was an army, an army led by the greatest warrior of the abandoned city, led by Garrakel, their purpose was to live and die to protect those members that fled through the snow.

Many of their numbers were lowered due to the pursuing kin'toni, though the army led by Garrakel kept standing regardless of challenge or weather, many times even doing community work as to better the living conditions for those going through treacherous things. That blizzard marked their history and formation deeply, this happened because, while for the Johir it led them to the path to their new home, the army led by Garrakel actually got split due to the same event, and had to spend even longer periods of time battling the kin'toni in the unlivable areas of that whole tundra.

Where the same troops had to spend another set of weeks focused entirely on trying to maintain themselves nourished, to find safe and proper shelter, and to fight off the forever restless advancing from the kin'toni. This doom fallen onto the troops forced them to adopt quite a philosophy, where, to put it simply, the only way to deal with an unfree and collapsing world, is to become more terrifying than the apocalypse itself, thus, most of those troops kept moving, their determination being live proof of their ruthlessness, they crossed taigas for a couple of days until the first example of this "terrifying" factor was seen.

As they were the first to engage in cooking and eating the kin'toni they killed, all to guarantee the survivability of the group that by now, already called themselves the Garraykel tribe. By the time they finally found rest at the Vesld Snowy Blue Taiga, they had already ripped away a significant part of what can be considered a zu'aan's civility, basically treating themselves as fair equivalents to berserkers, the rage which fueled them was like nothing else observed at other tribes, really embracing the thesis that you have to be worse than the doom that threatens your existence.

==Psychology==

The psychology which is responsible for shaping the psyche of the members of the Garraykel Tribal zu'aan is one that can be fairly compared to that of what a predator would be in the wild, beginning all of it with their fundamental viewpoint towards the notions of life and death, which is quite a fatalistic one, where most of the tribe's members actually take to a worldview which is defined by a fact where they already consider themselves as dead, and that any signs of life within the Garraykel had already died in the blizzard of 4E 13.

Which translates to how they have already accepted death before anything else, which sort of nullifies many of the self-preservation instincts other zu'aan tribes might have. This feeling of an almost fearless, and perhaps even suicidal confidence is often a notion utilized as a justification for their morality and its developed compass, a moral compass which views many things such as hesitation or pity as merely disposable semi-virtues, that are only responsible for displaying distinct biological weaknesses that weaker zu'aan might have developed over the passing of times due to their inferior minds.

This puts them away from many of the core concepts that may be brought forward by the social fact of being a zu'aan, placing them on a sort of self-perceiving higher position in comparison to others, which also influences their inherent lack of shame. Furthermore, they share a series of impulses that work entirely around stimuli, this, birthed from the historical event of the blizzard, brings to the zu'aan of the Garraykel tribe a deep fear of silence, something they relate to starving quietly in the snow during critical moments.

This, in turn, allowed them to develop a sense of craving for noise, for action, and overall, for adrenaline, something that makes it so, psychologically, members that are quieter or less well are seen as suspicious, or perhaps mentally inferior, as to comparison to other zu'aan that seek actions such as sparring or just listening to music; basically following the thesis that silence is the song death plays when approaching, developing their collective anxiety into a needed mania that acts as psychological proof of their existence.

Now, when it comes to the interpersonal relationships established by members of this tribe, we observe the creation of deep bonds, that actually allow for a deeper sense of complexity in self expression and mutual expression than in many other tribes, though it does come in a different manner, where we see it expressed through quite violent means; to put it in very simple terms, members from the Garraykel don't know how to be gentle, instead establishing relations of care and trust through the mutual bleeding every tribe member goes through.

Friendships and relationships look more like plain rivalries when seen from an outsider's perspective, fighting is something normalized, and physical affection often takes to rough means, such as headbutting or shoulder bashing, almost as if the members of the Garraykel tribe need to constantly remind each other that they are all concrete, real and alive.

==Culture==

The cultural outlook developed within the Garraykel tribe is one which manifests their sort of predator behaviour into their daily expression, beginning first of all with their clothing and chosen aesthetic, which is one that attempts to be a clear stand out amongst the colorless snow present in the Vesld Snowy Blue Taiga, sort of following the rule of "If something in nature is colorful, you should run from it". They instead of hiding, fully embrace the danger by expressing themselves such as it, often dying clothing with deep and strong red and black colors.

Utilizing their heavy furs (often adorned with skulls) as a way to attempt to look more monstrous than kin'toni themselves. Furthermore, when it comes to one of the artistic expressions done by the tribe, music, it goes by the opposite of what is often taught in any sort of musical academics around Taerel, fully embracing what the vast majority of other groups would consider cacophony, instead developing a musical taste focused entirely around attack, turning this art into a weapon.

We observe this in a more clear illustration by what they call thunder drums, created from hollowed out pines and leather from the fauna around, that are played as both a warning sign, a celebration, and a full-on threat. When it comes to the food preparation and their methods utilized for consumption, we observe, as was mentioned previously, a very rare occasion of the consumption of kin'toni meat, which is avoided by many tribes (due to the consequences we observe occur a lot between the Garraykel, such as the development of a plethora of pathologies).

And also the consumption of raw meats, the prime example being animal hearts and livers, preferring their meat fully rare, often eating right after finishing a hunt, or in the case of a kin'toni or another zu'aan, right after giving the killing blow, even creating some cases where a Garraykel's tribe member's opponent had their flesh consumed before they were fully dead. Now, another cultural practice developed by the Garraykel are a series of processes with the objective of marking down expression on one's body, such as the practice of drawing tattoos.

Though, even with the limited technology that does allow for some pain relief within the Shattering Age, the Garraykel often decide to go a bit more "primordial", by carving those markings into their skin by sharp objects. Members of the tribe that take to this practice see ink tattoos as sort of soft, since the member adhering to it doesn't fully embrace the pain necessary to mark something on their body forever. Furthermore, when it comes to their architecture, it is quite noticeable on how the members of the are nomadic and sleep in wherever place they find fit within the Vesld Snowy Blue Taiga.

Or they live in simple housing units, such as tents, that often carry brutal details such as the replacement of wood by ribcages of fallen foes.

==Government==

The governance style present within the Garraykel Tribal zu'aan is one that focuses itself within the ideological philosophy of concentrating political power around those most responsible for upholding the tribe's principles in keeping themselves as a group of predators, as a source of fears, which basically means political protagonism in absolute level to those responsible for running the military of the tribe, this is seen primarily by how the head of state follows the nature of military authority, known as the Gar-Khan, which derives, clearly, from the founding leader of the tribe's ancestors Garrak.

Furthermore, notions such as civilian and soldiers aren't put away from each other, really showing how a notion which really justifies the maintaining of a stratocracy gets all naturalized within the Garraykel's society, making it so members feel to a certain degree included within the government form regardless of their position in life. Power itself, amongst the leaders of the tribe isn't decided by an election as is the style of many other tribes, they instead work by a challenge of force.

Where any officer responsible for controlling an army with above 20 troops has the right to, at any chosen moment, challenge the current Gar-Khan to a direct challenge to the death, the style being chosen by the very Gar-Khan, if it's a one-on-one or a strategic fight against two armies, if this challenging officer manages to win against the Gar-Khan, they are to become the new Gar-Khan. It may seem like a simple winner-takes-all or perhaps a chaotic notion, however it is a fully regulated legal process within the tribe, and is obligated to be followed by the witnessing of the entire tribe.

All with the idea of always keeping the Garraykel's leader as the strongest there is. Within such structure we often observe that the control is absolute to a certain degree, basically allowing for the creation of a democratic process that is directly controlled by the very current Gar-Khan of the tribe, basically creating an inside-out state of democracy, this is seen due to the fact that there exists a council which is supposed to operate as an advisory branch responsible for keeping the leader in check.

However, the members of this legislative group are chosen fully by the very Gar-Khan, which has led to many cases of full-on corruption, where legitimate members of this council are removed by the choice of the Gar-Khan, replaced by members which agree more to the leader's rule. The justice system created by the Garraykel tribe's leadership follows another notion common to societies shaped by military control, where justice is completely retributive and put into trial by the main means of combat.

Prisons are seen as a waste of resources, while, at the same time, a life that falls into crime is seen as waste, which leads to the decision of processes via death matches, solving both of the phenomena seen as issues for the Garraykel.

==Military==

The military doctrine which is responsible for the shaping of the Garraykel's tribe armed forces is one that encompasses their entire functionality within the armed branch of society, beginning with the full giving of life towards the purpose of war. The main gimmick presented by the military of this tribe is that of a full dedication to total war, which allows for the existence of such a high level of militaristic ideological shaping that most of the members of the tribe believe themselves to be constantly in the middle of conflict.

Even during what may be considered peacetime, really acting as the spine of that whole tribe, allowing for the military and for the armed forces to extend their reach onto many of the sectors of the Garraykel. Now, when it comes to the structural chain of command, it's possible to observe a series of rigid numbered regiments divided thoroughly into a series of divisions that operate semi-autonomously, though, this autonomy is limited due to the authoritarian reach of the very military government.

Wich is represented by the officers; in theory, it works in a way where those who have proved themselves in battle through their titles know exactly what to do, but often times officers are chosen within corrupt political systems, just as the legislative councils created by the Gar-Khan of the tribe. Inside the battlefield, officers are motivated by the accumulation of political power and financial incentives to be able to kill the greatest number of opponents as possible, which often leads to constant cycles of disorganization during conflict itself.

We see officers and their cells race each other to be able to claim first blood, or to be able to have the ability of breaching the enemy's line, often causing a series of chaotic events that lead to unnecessary casualties, be it via logistic issues or plain suicidal charges, all justified under the rare circumstances where it allows for the creation of ruthless and ferocious momentum. The Garraykel also take to many other tactics that might seem a bit far when put in comparison to their usual wrathful practices.

Such as that of psychological warfare via the weaponization of their very own trauma regarding silence and its ability to express the voice of death, this is done by two steps often seen in battlefields where, before a proper charge, we see members of the Garraykel armed forces prepare acoustics with terror-like objectives, mimicking the noises of loud marches in a path while they approach silently from behind enemy lines to strike down kin'toni like critters. Speaking of their tactics in the battlefield, their fighting style is combined with proper equipment that prioritizes crushing power.

Released by explosive muscular motions, much preferring to break kin'toni to the bone with things such as war-hammers and mauls, all with the main objective of knocking down lines by the breaking of legs or ribcages, immobilizing them just enough for other Garraykels to crush the kin'toni's skulls properly.

==Religion==

The theology developed in the Garraykel tribal zu'aan follows core concepts that are similar to many religions developed in other tribes, where faith and the series of beliefs of the members of the tribe are shaped entirely around the historical figures most important to the development of the tribe's existence. In this case, the religion of the Garraykel is known as the cult of the red saint, Garrak, the central figure that represents and embodies the first wrathful beast that taught every upcoming garraykel how to translate their rage into proper fuel.

This shapes prayer into physical expressions that are done in diverse manners that can adapt to each's characteristics, be it screaming, lifting heavy weights, or even sparring brutally with a friend or family member. Though, while they do consider the faith around the cult of the red saint an expression of spirituality, as it gives the garraykel's members a sense of self deeper and higher than just their own selves, connecting them into the tribe's community, it still operates under a deeply anti-theistic matter.

They see any Gods that remain in a higher plane while not directly solving the issues of Taerel as plain cowards, and often times, if the same God is declared as all-powerful, even as plain murderers, ones who contribute to killings by not using their power for direct good. When speaking of deeper spiritual connections, the members of the tribe and of the described religion also extends further than from just zu'aan and into the very biology which shapes the Vesld Snowy Blue Taiga, such as many of the animals.

Though, while this does sound quite nice, it is often done by the live representation, within one's expression, of the food chain present within that same ecossystem, which creates a contrast where the Garraykel both praise an animal's individual abilities and their symbolic meaning, they also praise the cycle of which the animal makes part of, and can often pray to a species then proceed to hunt it in the same one hour period. The religion as placed as an institution is also utilized as a means to maintain the status-quo developed by the tribe's history.

Where the clergy is responsible for maintaining direct relations to both the masses of the tribe and the military members that have a great grip on political power, this is done in practice in a way where they promote the act of self-sacrifice, per example, as a means to achieve a higher placement, closer to the ideal of the red-saint, even if such is not what is directly defended by the religion. THis was often done via plain bribes done from the officers with enough money, which they do so out of the fear that may come from allowing individuals to use religion to challenge the militaristic manners of the tribe.

But, as time passed, a series of policies were applied were such wasn't needed anymore, since members of the clergy passed from being independent actors that needed bribes, to members that had to follow a strict series of laws as to promote the military structure, to just being straight up chosen by the Ghar-khan.

==Miscellany==

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

{{CrossSiteAttribution
|User = kalilbao (Discord)
|Holder = kalilbao
}}

[[Category:kalilbao's contributions]]
[[Category:3rd-century Twilight Age zu'aan tribes]]

Garraykel Tribal Zu'aan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)