Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:40:51Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Kin'toni clan
|Name = Lyenche Kin'toni Clan
|Parent Groups = Unknown
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Tannal Foothills]]
|Date Founded = 4E 211
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==
When zu’aan caravans faring through the previously safe [[Tannal Foothills]] started to go missing without a trace, terror spread throughout zu’aan settlements. Some suspected that a wandering clan has reached the foothills, others blamed the disappearances on supernatural reasons. In reality, the truth was much more macabre, for a spontaneous mutation in the area’s weak kin’toni clan was enough to turn them into bloodthirsty, merciless killers.

Suddenly, nights that would previously be peaceful would be filled with a cacophony of kin’toni screeches, as they clawed on the walls of zu’aan forts at night and faded away into the darkness whenever armed zu’aan tried to beat them back with bows. Alas, it wasn’t long before the walled zu’aan stone forts that once stood tall in the foothills fell, and allowed nocturnal abominations to spill inside, those monsters were of course the Lyenche kin’toni, who cleverly made use of their fully silent movement, silky skin of a stygian colour that helped them blend in with the nothingness, and abnormally sharp prolonged claws, to become any zu’aan’s worst nightmare.

Unlike actual nightmares however, those murderous horrors were real. The Lyenche kin’toni used to be frail and lacking in strength, but something stirred inside the clan’s youngest generation. They mutated and adapted. The Lyenche clan were now a clan of predators, and they were hungry for the zu’aan blood that they have not tasted for so long. When there were no zu’aan left in the Tannal Foothills, the Lyenche tried to expand their reach, wandering about at night and searching for prey outside of their territory, but they were met with strong pushback from other kin’toni clans who were mightier than them, both in technology and muscle power.

Eventually, the Lyenche decided to stay in the Tannal Foothills, an area which zu’aan don’t dare cross because of the tales about nocturnal carnivores with inky skin that blends with the night. The Lyenche clan members are also a mystery to other kin’toni. Those who would try to attack their forts or settle on their land would be found brutally murdered in their residence, no witnesses could tell anything of the ghostly assassins. This way, Lyenche could maintain political control throughout their reign in the Tannal Foothills without having to bother with diplomatic relations and negotiations with other clans.

The lack of knowledge about the Lyenche helped maintain peace in the region. After all, it’s not a smart idea to assault a foe who may or may not be much more powerful. The reputation of the Lyenche spread far and wide, zu’aan refuse to travel through the Tannal foothills completely, and the Lyenche merely wait in their stolen stone forts, hungry. Their patience is running out, so the Lyenche have carefully crafted a plan for their expansion beyond the foothills. Weapons and armour are collected from other kin’toni clans by Lyenche raiders, their houses echo with the clash and whine of spears being sharpened.

War is just around the hills, and the Lyenche will make the entirety of Taerel shudder at their name.

==Psychology==

Little is known about the Lyenche clan because they are extremely secretive when it comes to their culture and way of life. The Lyenche kin’toni are introverted and only communicate with close relations inside the clan. Perhaps the most defining behaviour of Lyenche clan members though, is the fact that they are absolutely terrified of light. Clan members refuse to come out of their housing until sunset, even if their lives are at stake. Luckily for the Lyenche, this weakness had not been discovered by other clans, or else they would be annihilated from the Tannal Foothills by anyone choosing to attack in daytime.

This fear of the light is something that forces the Lyenche to attack at nighttime, something that makes them even more petrifying to zu’ann and kin’toni alike The Lyenche possess intelligence of a rudimentary level when compared to other kin’toni clans. It seems like they are driven more by primal instinct than logic and intellect. No empathy or mercy for other life, the Lyenche kin’toni will slay and bite until they get tired, or sunrise comes. The only creatures that the Lyenche seem to care about apart from themselves are their closest companions in the clan, and they care about them a lot.

There have been instances where one Lyenche kin’toni sacrificed themselves to protect a fellow clanmate from death. The Lyenche seem to naturally form a similar bond with the zu’ann they turn, being the closest thing a kin’toni has to family. As the Lyenche kin’toni are shy around kin’toni from other clans, this behaviour had not been observed or noted by anyone else. These kin’toni do not seem to possess the ability to make tools, so they live a scavenger-like lifestyle, stealing weapons, tools, equipment and more from neighbouring kin’toni clans.

The Lyenche raiders don’t just thieve whatever they set their eyes upon. They spent minutes, sometimes hours peering at their targets from the dark, and they observe how the items get used, to determine whether they are worth the risk. The kin’toni clans occupying the Tannal region all have blood-curdling stories of how they’ve sometimes seen pairs of bright, yet cold yellow eyes gazing seemingly right into their souls. The hostility to zu’ann that the Lyenche clan exhibit goes far beyond normal kin’toni levels.

It’s almost as if the mere sight of a zu’ann causes their blood to boil and for the Lyenche to be thrown into a blasphemous feral rage, clawing and chomping at any object between them and the unfortunate zu’ann, be this object dead or alive. Older Lyenche have missing teeth and dulled claws from trying to break down walls of zu’ann stone castles with nothing but their bodies and untamed fury. It’s speculated that the deficit of zu’ann blood before the Lyenche spontaneously mutated was a huge contributing factor, but this phenomenon of uncontrolled insanity isn’t shown by any other starving kin’toni clans, so there must be a bigger picture.

Perhaps the kin’toni plague is to blame for both their heightened aggression and uncannily evolving biology? What if the microorganism behind this plague is evolving at a much faster rate than the kin’toni, and it has finally found a key to total zu’ann extermination within the Lyenche kin’toni? It’s likely that we will never know. At least not until it is too late.

==Biology==

The first Lyenche were normal kin’toni with no specific traits to give them any sort of advantage over others, but their sudden mutation brought on a vast assortment of traits to help them thrive as nocturnal hunters. The changes didn’t happen in a day, they took a couple dozen generations to develop to the state they are now in the current year of the Twilight Age, but this evolution was still more rapid than anything the zu’ann have ever seen before. It’s not surprising that the sudden advent of these horrors in an otherwise peaceful region filled the hearts of both zu’ann and kin’toni with fear.

The first trait that the Lyenche developed was near-perfect night vision. A Lyenche kin’toni can orient themselves in pitch-black darkness just as well as they can at daytime, if not better. This grants them such a significant edge over other kin’toni, that the chilling thoughts of gruesome night raids that leave not a trace, but stacks of corpses drained dry like hay, are enough to put off any temptation to start a war with the Lyenche. Indeed, the defenseless villages of neighbouring kin’toni could not stand a chance against those ravenous monsters.

Glowing golden eyes. Then, the clash of claws. Then, the Lyenche feast. Clan members have to move with the speed of lighting, because their eyes significantly stand out against the gloomy midnight’s shades, so an adaptation which otherwise would have hampered the lethality of Lyenche raids turned out to be a blessing in the long run as the species evolved further. Speed and endurance grant the Lyenche opportunities for hit-and-run attacks that no other kin’toni clan could execute with such efficiency and precision. The enemies would get picked off one by one, stragglers couldn’t outsprint the Lyenche and neither could they hide in the foothills.

For each and every single one: glowing golden eyes in the dark. Then, the light is dimmed. Then, teeth. What makes the Lyenche nigh impossible to spot in the dark is their inky jet-black skin. Of course, if one looks closely, one might notice a darker shadow among shadows, but by that time it is usually too late. Woe be to anyone who is hunted by the Lyenche in pure darkness, because in combination with the silent footsteps that these kin’toni have, victims tend to stumble right into the Lyenche’s cold hands without even knowing that they were are there.

Of course, this requires that the Lyenche kin’toni close their eyes, so that they do not shine in the moonlight. Still, that’s no problem for the Lyenche because they also have amazing hearing. It seems almost as if the Lyenche kin’toni are nature’s perfect nocturnal predators. However, there is one thing that stops the Lyenche from being the apex kin’toni clan in the Tannal area. The Lyenche kin’toni may have great agility and stealth, but they are short and fragile, with slower would healing than most other kin’toni. This stops them from being able to win large battles, or even one-on-one skirmishes if their foes can see them.

Assassinations, ambushes and raids are where the Lyenche have a clear edge, yet they would still crumble in hand-to hand combat against a skilled kin’toni or even zu’ann fighter.

==Culture==

The Lyenche society is unique in the fact that it only truly comes alive during the night. The Lyenche shelter themselves from the daylight, usually in solitude. Sunset is when the clan’s members rise from their dwellings and plan for the night’s hunt. This is the time for conversations, careful strategy and clan-wide religious rituals. Hunting zu’ann is at the center of the Lyenche culture. Those kin’toni who have the most confirmed kills are the ones respected and followed the most. Success in the Lyenche clan is equal to authority.

The strong rule the weak, and since the youngest batch of kin’toni are best-evolved ones, kin’toni that previously were powerful to the point of contesting the spot of the clan leader have since fallen all the way to the role of the servants. The older leading members of the Lyenche clan are aware that they will one day be irrelevant, but they cannot resist their thirst for blood, and nor can they do anything once they are outmatched by younger kin’toni. This is something that overall leads to an atmosphere of bitterness in the older members of the Lyenche clan.

Some are arrogant in the hopes that perhaps securing their authority early is going to help them keep it in the long run, others are just disappointed in seeing how quick their golden days have gone by. On the other side of the coin, the younger members of the clan are energized and hopeful, excited for the glorious time where they, too, may be the top kin’toni of the Lyenche clan. As the adaptation of the Lyenche slows down significantly, it’s unknown if this tradition of the young ruling over the old will continue. The dislike of light that the Lyenche clan members have plays a part in their culture.

Since the kin’toni overtake other zu’ann and kin’toni homes instead of building their own huts themselves, the largest houses with the least windows and entrances for light to come through are the ones valued the highest in the Lyenche society. It’s not uncommon for the more powerful clan members to evict weaker clan members from their dwellings if they are considered better by Lyenche tastes. There is no stigma against theft, even against fellow clan members, because theft and dishonour are the ways the Lyenche survive and prosper.

Since power and number of assassinations are what measures status in the Lyenche society, it’s natural to see an atmosphere of competition among the kin’toni, who choose to value it above collaboration. During a hunt, Lyenche kin’toni will compete with each other for how many zu’ann they can turn, sometimes placing bets on who will win. This is another reason why the Lyenche wouldn’t succeed in large-scale organized battles. When glory and fame are more important than the clan’s victory, the army is disorganized and prevents itself from coming out on top.

Even though the Lyenche typically dislike bragging, impressing other kin’toni is key to climbing the ranks and getting power over other clan members, which in turn is something that a lot of Lyenche look forward to.

==Government==

As mentioned in the culture section, power and successful hunts are the keystones to having authority in the Lyenche society. Conducting successful raids doesn’t just cause one to be respected, it directly increases one’s position on the Lyenche social hierarchy. If an experienced hunter commands a less experienced one to do something, they must obey. This pyramid goes all the way to the top, with one kin’toni having power over the rest. If a Lyenche kin’toni disobeys the orders of a higher-up, they will either be banished from participating in the next hunt(s), or the clan altogether.

This system is far from perfect, and there has been protest. There have been a couple of occurrences where powerful members of the clan set controversial rules up, and mysteriously disappeared from the Tannal Foothills the following night. Clan members are aware of what likely happened, but often cannot pinpoint who the murderer was. Those sudden assassinations are a thing which keeps kin’toni with a high status on their toes and prevents them from feeling invincible. After all, carelessness often leads to death in the harsh world of Taerel.

The laws of the clan are ever-changing. They get spread around the clan via word of mouth, since the Lyenche kin’toni can neither read nor write. This leads to two fairly big problems in the clan. As the majority of the Lyenche dislike talking with those who they don’t know very well, some members of the clan are simply never made aware of the rules and etiquette. More often than not, dilemmas arise where a kin’toni has done something that would deserve punishment for disobedience under normal circumstances, but since they are not aware of the rule being put in place, it’s unfair to punish the perpetrator.

The Lyenche lack the teamwork to distribute the loot from their raids among clan members. The strong are not obligated to support the weak, so a lot of weight is placed on individuality. Disputes over zu’ann, weapons, tools and other objects of interests to the Lyenche kin’toni happen after nearly every hunt. Like most things in the clan, such disputes are solved with fists rather than politics. If the two arguing kin’toni are unequal in their combat prowess, the strong one will generally always walk away with the spoils uncontested.

In the rare case that the two kin’toni are on the same niche in the hierarchy, they will proceed with a duel to determine who receive the hunt’s treasures. Such duels usually end in one of the kin’toni surrendering, being killed, or sustaining serious injuries. Similar duels happen when two kin’toni disagree about their place in the hierarchy, so one may duel the other and take all their status if they come out victorious. If someone with barely any experience can prove themselves stronger than the leader, they can immediately usurp their authority.

Sure, the kin’toni law and government system does have gaping holes, but one must remember that they Lyenche are a primitive clan who have only recently begun to create a formal system for how their society should work. The members of the Lyenche clan are aware of this themselves, and hope that their system will continue to advance until one day it may be perfected. Despite this, the day where the Lyenche clan will have a law system similar to the civilized kin’toni clans is far away.

==Military==

Every kin’toni in the Lyenche clan is forced to fend for themselves. Unless two kin’toni are very close to each other, which certainly does happen sometimes, no one is there to help one if one lacks zu’ann blood, tools, weapons or even a roof over one’s head. This means that every single kin’toni in the clan is a hunter to some degree, and while some kin’toni live for the thrill, the rage, the rapidly pumping adrenaline, others prefer stealing interesting objects from the hands of other kin’toni and playing with them. Nevertheless, none of it matters because the only sustenance a Lyenche gets is from the zu’ann they hunt themselves.

This is true to such a degree, that sometimes Lyenche will fight over who gets to attack the prey. In the worst-case scenarios, this leads to both kin’toni being left without a meal. Members of the Lyenche clan are aware of this weakness they possess, so organized group hunts always target large, highly populated zu’ann settlements to make sure that everyone gets at least something. Otherwise, conflict and tensions inside the clan arise, which hurts nothing but the kin’toni themselves. On the topic of organized Lyenche hunts, a lot of them are called raids and may target both zu’ann and kin’toni villages.

The goal of those raids is not just to satisfy the kin’toni thirst for sanguine liquid, there may be a multitude of reasons as to why the raid was called to happen. Some common reasons are a kin’toni clan attempting to settle in the Tannal Foothills, which are strictly Lyenche-controlled territory, zu’ann caravans travelling through the area, or as a way to steal things like weapons. The latter is becoming increasingly common, as the Lyenche prepare for expansion and war in the near future. The Lyenche clan have no previous experience with field warfare, and they are aware that typical military strategies will not work with their style of combat and tactical maneuvers.

The strategy that the Lyenche are planning to employ in the incoming war is to avoid large-scale battles, especially during daytime, and to instead utilize stealth and cunning to win small skirmishes. Ambushes and nocturnal raids on exhausted foes are tried and true tactics that the Lyenche have had great success with, so it would be shocking to not see them put to use. There is technically no obligation in participating in battles and raids against other kin’toni clans. However, deciding not to would cause one to fall out of the Lyenche social ladder extremely quick.

Those among the Lyenche clan who stay in their houses while others are out pillaging are typically heavily wounded or sustaining permanent injuries from a previous battle. Kin’toni suffering from the latter usually do not last very long unless they are cared for by close companions in the clan, and not everyone has one of these.

==Religion==

Unsurprisingly, the Lyenche worship the night and the darkness. Their beliefs seem to mirror the ones of the Orm’kela much further up North, so it’s likely that both clans had the same ancestors. However, the names of the Lyenche gods seem to be different. Lozaar is the Lyenche god of the night, while Se’il is the goddess of light. According to Lyenche legends, Se’il is an eldritch monstrosity, an amalgamation of blinding light that coated the entirety of Taerel and drove kin’toni into madness and agony.

Lozaar, Se’il’s brother, took pity on the struggling kin’toni, and thus covered Taerel with a blanket of darkness to preserve the sanity of those living there, and let them function in peace without having their minds invaded by the light. Se’il did not take kindly to this, so she attempted to remove the darkness, and she succeeded until Lozaar put the same shield up again. The two are in constant, eternal struggle against each other. If Lozaar does not receive sacrifices and prayers from the kin’toni clans, the blanket will give in and Taerel will be devoured by living light.

The Lyenche believe that when the sun rises, Se’il blasts a hole through the defences of Taerel that Lozaar put up, so thus he is lacking in power. The Lyenche get inside their houses and pray, attempting to get their words to dim Se’il’s light. Somehow, their prayers always work, because whenever the sun rises, it sets again hours later, and Taerel once again becomes safe to inhabit. The Lyenche are terrified of the possibility of the night never arriving to take the day’s place, and that the light of Se’il will grow more powerful.

Either forcing the kin’toni to hide and block all sun out of their housing, or to plunge into insanity and a sense-wrecking, dazzling hell that Taerel would become. Religious rituals happen during the night as well. When the Lyenche kin’toni come out of their houses and see that Se’il’s radiance has faded, they are overfilled with joy and praise both Lozaar, for holding out and preserving Taerel another day, and themselves, for supposedly helping him achieve this. The first hour after sunset is a period of celebration and happiness among the Lyenche kin’toni.

It is believed to be sinful to engage in hunts or raids until those first rites are finished, a rule which the Lyenche think is very important. Despite the religions of the two having such great parallels between each other, the Lyenche and the Orm’kela are not even aware of each other’s existence, though it would be interesting to see what would happen if one met the other. The Lyenche know that other clans are more tolerant to light than they are, some even prefer it to darkness. They claim that those clans have simply been controlled and had gotten their wills stolen by Se’il herself.

The goal that Se’il hoped to achieve by doing that is to set the foreign clans up against the Lyenche, who have been enlightened to see right through her wicked lies, or so the Lyenche kin’toni believe.

==Miscellany==

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

{{CrossSiteAttribution
| User = [https://www.fiverr.com/piggytheastro piggytheastro]|
| Holder = piggytheastro
}}

[[Category:3rd-century Twilight Age kin'toni clans]]
[[Category:piggytheastro's contributions]]

Lyenche Kin'toni Clan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)