Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:41:06Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Kin'toni clan
|Name = Oughistor Kin'toni Clan
|Parent Groups = Unknown
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Vor Stone Fields]]
|Date Founded = 4E 373
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

The Oughistor kin’toni clan live in the [[Vor Stone Fields]], a wide expanse of land covered entirely in large rocks and stones. The rock fields are rather bare, with very little by way of food for the kin’toni, and it is not known why a group founded a clan in these harsh conditions. The Oughistor clan was formed early in the second age, when a group of kin’toni found and settled on the Vor stone fields. As previously stated, it is not known why they chose this area to settle in, but they seemed to make a success of it. They soon learnt to work with and manipulate the stone of their environment.

Creating basic buildings constructed of stone and held together by dried, hardened clay and mud. These buildings are surprisingly sturdy, and keep the sunlight out entirely. The Oughistor clan were violent from the start. Throughout their history they have never shied away from battle, and regularly raided zu’aan tribes and other kin’toni clans for the resources they needed, and gained a particular reputation for being fearsome fighters with their stone weaponry. Over time, the Oughistor clan have been part of at least three inter-clan wars, for various reasons.

Over time the clan became more and more skilled in working the rock and stone of their homeland, creating stronger, better tools and weapons, and improving their homes greatly as time went on. About 200 years after their founding, the Oughistor underwent an interesting development when they began to do basic writing. This basic form of writing on rocks using coal or charcoal assisted them greatly, helping them to design and create better tools out of stone, and even lead to them beginning to use more sophisticated techniques in battle, only improving their incredible combat effectiveness.

Starting from the founding of the Oughistor clan, male kin’toni slowly became more and more dominant. The necessity of greater strength to work the stone of the Vor stone fields pushed the men into a position of authority, and they became the leaders of the clan. Though women are not mistreated, within the Oughistor clan it is clear that the men are seen as more important and more skilled. At the founding of the clan, the kin’toni lived separately. Alone, but over time the bareness and lack of resources in their land led to the clan grouping up in one large settlement to the south of the rock fields.

In a location that was convenient for raids and attacks on zu’aan settlements and rival clans. Though not large or sophisticated enough to be named a city by zu’aan standards, the Oughistor clan settlement in the Vor rock fields grew to a decent size, containing all the hundreds of members of the clan in one location. This centralized position has never been attacked throughout their history; as such a large gathering of a clan known for their combat prowess deterred all thought of attacking the settlement.

==Biology==

The Oughistor clan biology differs between genders. To begin with, the males are larger and more muscular. This is partially a natural feature of their biology, but also due to the circumstances of this particular clan, over time the males were fed and exercised more, increasing their physical size and strength. The nails on the hands of male Oughistor kin’toni are hard and resistant, comparable to the rock and stone they work with every day.
This helps them in their stone working, allowing them to more firmly grip and hold down the stone they are shaping by digging these powerful nails into the stone to keep it secure.

They also tend to be more intelligent, as they spend a lot of time working on and developing new tools. Female Oughistor kin’toni are smaller, and faster. With the men taking leadership and combat positions, the female kin’toni began to work as scouts and spies, moving quickly and silently through the world. Over time they adapted to become more lean and toned, giving them better endurance and speed, at the cost of physical strength. The nails of female Oughistor kin’toni are long and sharp, adapted for use in attacking and slicing at enemies rather than the use of brute force.

All Oughistor kin’toni are completely bald, their entire body and head. When a zu’aan is turned by a Oughistor kin’toni, their hair very soon falls out and leaves them bald. They also tend to be more intelligent than most kin’toni, though this is more obvious among the males than the females. Their eyes have grey pupils, and the iris is large. Their skin is thicker and tougher than that of other kin’toni, though this does leave them with less manoeuvrability and speed. Though they have great endurance and strength, they are relatively slow and not very dexterous, along with the usual kin’toni weakness to sunlight. An additional vulnerability is sensitivity of the head; a strong blow to the head can knock a Oughistor kin’toni unconscious with relative ease.

And a smart opponent can make use of limited speed against them. Oughistor kin’toni have thick, yellow blood. The older the kin’toni, the lighter the colour of their blood, with the oldest having almost white blood. When they are cut, the blood does not flow easily, its thick texture causing it to move sluggishly and coagulate easily. Though this prevents them from losing much blood, the Oughistor kin’toni have less blood than most organisms their size and can be incapacitated by the loss of blood far more easily than most other kin’toni. The Oughistor kin’toni mostly eat meat, and drink the blood of the animals they hunt.

Though they very often raid zu’aan cities for their blood, which is their preferred type.

==Culture==

In the Oughistor clan, men are valued above women. Their physical strength and knowledge of stone working is what first gave the clan their advantage and reputation, and this has led to the male kin’toni of the clan occupying most positions of leadership and authority. Though females can hold these positions, it is not common and often does not last very long when it does happen. The Oughistor do not often turn zu’aan, as they find the size of their clan acceptable, and their battle prowess means they do not often lose any members of the clan. But if they do for any reason take heavy losses.

The female kin’toni with their skill as spies are usually the ones sent to turn and retrieve zu’aan for the clan. When newly turned kin’toni join the clan, they are usually sent to an experienced member of the clan to be taught and instructed about the life and traditions of the kin’toni. Within the clan, it is common for Oughistor kin’toni to share any and all discoveries they make, and co-operate for the good of the clan when working. Though this does not extend to kin’toni of other clans, it is not common to find any group of kin’toni, same clan or not, voluntarily working together and sharing information.

The togetherness of the Oughistor clan is strange, and the clan seems to share a powerful bond, seeing each other as family, and viciously defending and assisting each other. It is also common for kin’toni to come together in pairs, vaguely reminiscent of mating pairs in nature or married couples in zu’aan culture, although this bond is different. The kin’toni do not experience romantic attraction, but rather create pairs centred on the person they trust and care for most, regardless of age or gender. These paired kin’toni often go into battle together, and train extensively to maximise their effectiveness as a duo in combat.

Combat is an important part of the Oughistor clan. Every member of the clan is practiced and experienced in both armed and unarmed combat, so that at any time a battle should spring up and with anything at hand, all the Oughistor kin’toni can live up to the fearsome reputation of the clan. It is an important part of their culture that every kin’toni spends time each day practicing for combat to uphold the clan ideals of strength and warrior power. Though the clan in recent years have learnt basic writing and reading, it has never been used for art or culture. It is used entirely to prepare for and benefit combat, and has never been used for writing songs or poetry.

The only form of music that the Oughistor kin’toni know of or use, are their large battle drums of hide and wood. When going to war or to a major battle, the entire clan gather to listen to the drums being beaten, and it is seen as a major honor to be chosen to beat the drums before battle. The position of drummer is often used as a reward for kin’toni who make particularly intelligent discoveries. Or who prove themselves fierce in battle, and often large arguments spring up over who is deserving of the honor of announcing glorious battle before the entire Oughistor clan.

==Government==

The Oughistor clan are led by and controlled by a group of five kin’toni. The members of this ruling council change from time to time, but always serve the same purpose. Two generals, who control all combat and fighting related matters. Two workers, who handle issues that arise among the workers of the populace; and lastly, one overall leader who is in charge of the council as a whole. There is no formal election or selection process, but instead, any kin’toni who feel they are better fit to take one of the council’s positions, they may challenge the kin’toni in that position to prove who is superior though a contest, with the winner of the contest taking the position on the council.

Only a current member of the ruling council can challenge the current clan leader and even then, only if they had a good, clear reason to believe they would be a better leader. The council of the Oughistor clan do not have a formal set of laws which they follow, but rather make judgements based on their own opinions and beliefs. For example, if a kin’toni comes before the council for the crime of murdering a fellow clan member, the facts of the case are presented to the council, and they will work together to decide on a punishment. These punishments could range from incarceration, to extra work duties, to exile, or even death.

These crimes and punishments did not happen often, as the strong bonds of the clan meant that it was rare for the kin’toni to turn against each other except in exceptional circumstances. The generals in charge of the combat and military forces of the Oughistor clan were regarded as two of the most respected individuals of the clan. It was these generals who handled battlefield tactics and oversaw the training of the Oughistor kin’toni. To take the position of general, you either had to win in a contest of combat, or prove you had a superior knowledge of battlefield tactics through a test dictated by another member of the ruling council.

The workers who took positions on the council were less influential than the generals, but still wielded a lot of power in the clan. They oversaw anyone who worked, be it working on creating weapons and tools, working on new developments, and even hunters and food growers, few as those were. It was not common for anyone to challenge for these positions. But in the case of a challenge, it would either be resolved through a contest of combat, or a test of basic knowledge required for the position, carried out by the rest of the council. The ruling leader of the council undoubtedly held the most power and influence. They have the final say on all trial rulings, and had enough influence to overrule any other member of the council in matters pertaining to the good of the clan as a whole.

Challenges for this position are exceedingly rare, but usually were resolved through a contest to choose who could prove themselves more deserving of the position, by any means necessary.

==Military==

The Oughistor clan of kin’toni are renowned for their military might and combat ability. All members of the clan are trained daily for combat, ensuring that any and all of them are fit for battle at any time. Though this clan does not have a formal standing army, having all its members trained for combat means that when warriors are required, anyone can be called upon without delay. The Oughistor constantly have two leading generals, who are both experienced in combat, who will direct and control the clan’s forces in battle. The additional intelligence that is common in this clan leads to the development of many impressive tactics.

And plans for the battlefield which compliment their devastating ability to make them a deadly force to face in combat. Oughistor kin’toni go to battle in pairs. Often, pairs who live together train together to become more effective in battle, and outside of this, pairs are kept constant in order to ensure every kin’toni in battle has a partner they know and trust. These pairs can come in various forms, with the most common version being one kin’toni armed with a melee weapon while their partner is armed with a sling or bow. Oughistor kin’toni have only stone weapons, but these are advanced compared to other clans.

They have over time developed various forms of spears, swords, hatchets, bows, and even shields that they use to deadly effect on the battlefield. Spears in particular are widely used by the Oughistor clan, as the extra reach and distance they afford make them very useful when paired with immense strength, allowing them to easily pierce enemy armor. The Oughistor kin’toni make extensive use of armor. When going in to combat. Almost every kin’toni is equipped with a basic leather cap to protect their sensitive skulls, and many of the higher ranking and more skilled fighters wear basic armor in the form of primitive chest plates, while others simply rely on their naturally tough skin to keep them protected.

Female Oughistor have a unique position in the military. Their heightened speed and impressive dexterity make them excellent scouts and spies, and when an attack is planned, multiple female kin’toni are sent in advance to watch the enemy and judge the terrain before the arrival of the main force of warriors. They are also at times used as assassins, sent to slit the throats of enemy leaders and weaken their resolve. Though they are not as physically powerful as the males of their clan, their speed and athleticism make them a valuable resource on the battlefield when correctly deployed by competent generals.

When large scale battles and wars against other clans occur. The council and clan leader themselves personally lead their forces into battle, driving their warriors to new heights of strength and ferocity on the battlefield.

==Religion==

The Oughistor clan follow the god Ci’nlon, a spirit of war and battle. The kin’toni believe that Ci’nlon was one of the first members of the Oughistor clan, and the first warrior of the clan to fall in battle. They say that after his fall he became a god of war and battle to watch over them, a bloody spirit who favoured them and would grant them victory. Before going to battle the entire clan would gather together and listen as the drums of war beat, a call to their god to follow them to victory, and watch the glory that unfolds in his name. It became a great honour and reward to be chosen to beat the drums of Ci’nlon and announce the glory of war.

The kin’toni of the clan see Ci’nlon as a tall, powerfully built kin’toni with red markings across his face and brow. The blood of his enemies that remained on his mortal body at the time of his death. Particularly fervent followers of the god would paint their own red markings across their face and entire body as a symbol of devotion to Ci’nlon, believing it would earn greater favour from the god. The followers of Ci’nlon did not have many rituals or traditions, and instead worshipped their god through combat. The only ritual one could undertake was the burning of the heart of your greatest enemy.

As it was said the god once did during his time as a mortal. To become a true and powerful follower of Ci’nlon, a kin’toni had to find and defeat their greatest enemy, before ripping out their heart and bringing it home to burn in a great fire at the centre of the clan settlement. The kin’toni have no formal worship or priests, and have no teachings. They did not try to spread belief of Ci’nlon, and rather simply taught the newly turned kin’toni. It was not enforced by the ruling council that all of the Oughistor clan followed Ci’nlon, but it is very rare to find in any the clan who did not worship him.

Though most of their religion centred on combat and fighting, it did extend to other things as well. A worker who created weapons for battle was seen as a true follower of Ci’nlon if their weapons rarely broke, and slew many enemies. Any who could craft new weaponry, or improve the old, was said to be seen very highly by Ci’nlon, as they improved the clan’s capacity for combat and war. It is also said by the kin’toni of clan Oughistor that those who died in combat for Ci’nlon would join him in the afterlife as soldiers, battling eternally under his command to win all of creation for him.

This pushed the kin’toni to great daring and risks in battle, for victory won renown, and death won reward for the true followers of Ci’nlon.

==Miscellany==

The Oughistor clan has a wide variety of clothing, wearing a mixture of leather and hide clothes they created themselves, as well as some woven clothing stolen from zu’aan cities and tribes. Though they have many clothes, in the hot summer months it was not uncommon for kin’toni to be nude, as they had few worries or qualms about nudity or decency. But during the cold winter months, and especially more recently with the worsening weather, full outfits of clothing become increasingly common throughout the entirety of the clan. The Oughistor have become very skilled at the creation of buildings from the stone of their home in the Vor rock fields.

They learnt to erect walls of stones and fortify them with a mixture of mud and clay, and sealed any cracks which may allow sunlight in with additional clay and mud to ensure total protection from the sun’s rays. Most of these buildings are simple, single story homes meant for either one or two kin’toni, although some buildings, such as the council meeting place, are much larger. It is also not uncommon to see homes dug into the rock, creating underground caves where kin’toni can live safe from the sunlight during the day. The majority of the Oughistor clan’s food is meat from animals native to the surrounding area.

This is partially acquired through hunting, and partially through basic breeding and farming programs that were attempted at various times. Although attempting to breed and farm livestock was successful, each time it was attempted, something happened to disrupt it, whether it be a kin’toni losing control and slaughtering them, or the animals dying to the cold and starvation of winter. The main settlement of the Oughistor clan is on the borders of their territory. This is in order to place them in the best spot possible for attacks and raids on nearby zu’aan cities and other kin’toni clans.

These raids and attacks were common, with warriors often raiding to acquire any supplies the clan happened to lack at any time, or even just because some clan members wanted to prove their ability and prowess. The Oughistor clan themselves have only rarely been successfully attacked. In the early years of the second age, there were two attempted attacks from rival clans, but both were soundly beaten and eradicated when the entire clan took up arms and retaliated with brutal force. Since those absolute defeats, no others have attempted to attack. The very reputation and rumour about the clan being enough to keep the Oughistor safe from attack.

Although most of their work is centred on the creation of new weapons, better tools have also been created by the clan’s workers, leading to improved farming and food gathering work, which supplements the clan’s meat rich diet. The use of cooking and fire is also not uncommon, with the clan slowly over time improving their ability to cook meat and prepare meals more complex than the basic ingredients they began with.

{{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/andrewjdavies52 Andrew Davies]
| Holder = Andrew Davies
}}

[[Category:4th-century Twilight Age kin'toni clans]]
[[Category:Andrew Davies's contributions]]

Oughistor Kin'toni Clan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)