Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:40:28Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Kin'toni clan
|Name = Ranther Kin'toni Clan
|Parent Groups = Zalchirn Kin'toni Clan
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Yilzka Bog]]
|Date Founded = 4E 85
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

Before the formation of the Ranther clan there were three warring factions of the then-named Zalchirn clan, which included the Nys'gha, the Uskelda, and the Emari. Each faction had a considerable gap in terms of wealth, and this led to a civil war between the three factions that resulted in a key battle of the Shattering, at which point the Nys'gha were forced out of power and the clan as a whole and had to settle in the Zomil region and rebranding themselves as the Ranther clan while the other two factions still retained the Zalchirn clan name.

The Ranther clan, having learned a huge lesson in their loss, decided to become loyal to their ancient bog region, eventually forming an alliance with several other clans from another bog-related region. However, just a few years later a battle between their former clan the Zalchir clan and the [[Falyir Kin'toni Clan]]. the extinction of the former clan became evident as their opposition to the Falyir clan were strong enough to power through them and take over their region, but not without significant loss. This took a toll on the newly-formed Ranther clan over time.

Having chosen to attempt to not let the loss of their former clan get the best of them; unfortunately, the leader of the clan, one Zeykal Enthar, fell ill to an undeterminable illness. Before her death, however, she appointed a new clan leader, one Razwyr D'anszoa, and he called for an investigation into the mysterious and unexpected death. It was discovered many years later that a leader of the Falyir clan had planted a poisonous plant into the region, intending to kill the Ranther clan's leader. This led to a surprise invasion of the Falyir clan's homeland, which proved to be unsuccessful.

Then, in the year 4E 173, roughly three years later, the leaders of the [[Invernus Kin'toni Clan]] invited the leaders of the Ranther clan to an important and otherwise urgent meeting that would otherwise determine whether or not there would be an alliance between the two clans, with Enthar initially rejecting the invitation; however, after it was discovered that the Invernus clan had essentially lost its leader due to a similar illness. Because of this, they are generally considering stocking up for the upcoming Ice Age. But since their region will not be as much affected by the Ice Age as some seek refuge here, including some of their allies.

Given that, they will have a very hard time holding down their proverbial fort as many surprise invasions could be coming their way in just a few decades or even a few years, and though no one in the clan knows for certain when the Ice Age will begin.

==Psychology==

A Ranther kin'toni is a simple-minded kin'toni, but, it still can be hard for a kin'toni of this kind and this region to survive on their own. When a Ranther kin'toni looks for something, for example, he or she will go to most lengths to find it, wherever it may be. Looking for things is something that the Ranther kin'toni is good at, as their ancestors were skilled in scavenging things. And furthermore, when it comes to Ranther kin'toni being able to find important items of urgency, they value very highly the presence of bronze, especially when it can be found in the ground below where they walk.

Much of the Ranther clan's underground regional space is like a mine, where they use stone tools to look for bronze. That can be used for various different things. Given how the typical Ranther kin'toni likes to look for things, it's not uncommon to know that the typical Ranther kin'toni also likes to hunt and raise large and small animals. The majority of the Ranther kin'toni population also have some sort of mental illness. Some of the kin'toni in this clan have a profound illness that limits their vocabulary to grunts, whistles, moans, and shrieks. and other sounds.

Because of this variety of mental illness and profound impairments, most of the kin'toni belonging to this particular clan and region are essentially "cursed," although only a select few of the Ranther kin'toni tend to agree with such a statement. However, given that most of the Ranther kin'toni population suffer from a mental disorder or illness of some kind it is also very common for a Ranther kin'toni to talk to oneself as they rest in their homes, especially considering how important it is to practice social skills.

Typically, a Ranther kin'toni likes to look for stuff, but what most Ranther kin'toni do when they look for things is that they look more with their heart and less with their eyes. Since they know their region so well they will generally wander off to various places when they're bored just to seek something that they believe to be important, which is something that is not very normal compared to other clans. A final note of importance to consider about the Ranther clan is that when they look in groups, they will normally follow the eldest in their group and take orders from them.

Thus giving the eldest one an opportunity to lead by example. That's where the psychosomatics of this particular group scavenger hunt comes in, especially through the actions of both the eldest kin'toni and all of its younger counterparts.

==Biology==

The Rather are adapted to the swampy, humid, and often dark environment of the Yilzka Bog. They are slender, long limbed and with a deep narrow chest. They have an reduced skeletal mass and elongated form. This allows them to swim silently though water and undergrowth alike. The downside of this build is being less able to absorb crushing damage. Their skin is a dark, mottled green-brown in color, and with an layer of natural secretions. It has an outer layer that resists the persistent fungal and bacterial infections common in this region.

Due to having an near-constant state of vasodilation in the skin, they are vulnerable to debilitating heat stroke in dry, sun-exposed areas. The hair is a oily and black, and sparse and coarse. It grows in uneven, clumpy patches rather than a full coat. It has an natural wax coating that makes it highly resistant to water logging and the chill of the bog. The skin has an higher density of micro-capillaries for in-water oxygen intake in the low oxygen bog water. The eyes are large and with an silvery yellow iris.

The ears are adapted for light-gathering in the dim bog, but this makes them very sensitive to light. The ears are funnel shaped, large and pointed. They angle forward and have small, feathery tufts that paired with their co-opted sinuses, allows them to have a frequency sonar capacity. This also makes them sensitive to loud noises, leading to short term deafness. This is used for navigation in the murky bog waters. The nose is flat and broad, and the nostrils are widely flared. The sense of smell is adapted to be focused on detecting minute concentrations of methane, sulfur, and organic decay.

This allows them to track prey and avoid gas pockets. There are also filters and mucus membranes inside the nose for filtering. These are used for filtering out airborne spores and particulate matter from the bog air. To clear these filters when they are clogged, they have to spit up mucus, a loud and gross process. Their teeth are slightly elongated and with jagged, saw-like edges adapted for quickly shearing through the thick hides of bog-dwelling reptiles. These teeth also lack the ability to chew and are a strain on the body for continuous replacement.

The fingers have claws adapted for grip on slippery logs, submerged roots, and steep mud banks. They also have long, webbed fingers and toes. This webbing allows for swift in-water movement. The claws and webbing together, makes it hard for them to climb or use fine/complex tools. The hepatic 'cell clots' are modified into specialized glands that can allow the kin'toni to resist common neurotoxins found in poisonous bog flora and fauna. The blood vessels are reinforced and multiple-valved for handling the continuous pressure of being submerged for extended periods.

The hemoglobin-recycling glands are more efficient at extracting and storing necessary nutrients from blood of local fauna. This is an adaption to irregular feeding schedules on non mammalian blood. The cellular structure has adapted a higher tolerance for methane and sulfur compounds.

==Culture==

When it comes to certain aspects of the typical Ranther kin'toni it is most capable of living independently to survive and is usually taught how to survive in the bog region. In addition to the typical Ranther kin'toni learning how to survive in the Ancient Bog they also discover that a bunch of different things are feasible in the Ancient Bog. And because many things are possible in the Ancient Bog and the Ranther clan is transitioning out of the Stone Age, some Ranther kin'toni s are willing to learn how to use bronze to make certain bits of architecture.

And furthermore, it wasn't until a couple of years ago when the modern Ranther kin'toni discovered this bronze. They decided to make humble abodes out of stone to make their lives that much more tolerable in addition to their scavenging and hunting lifestyle. Some of the kin'toni in the Ranther clan are also artists and cross-platform artisans; in fact, a select minority of the clan that are gifted in the arts are often known as the Artists of the Ancient Bog, and these artists all participate in various masses and initiation processes.

Most even hold parties in their caves where they sacrifice a large animal known as a Rhu. This feast, referred to as the Feast of the Rhutnhur's Spirit, is often considered as a paganistic type of festival that praises the spirit of the Rhutnhur but also celebrates its life and ancestral legacy. A typical Ranther home is made out of stone. In the making of the typical Ranther kin'toni home groups of up to ten or even fifteen have been known to work together on it, providing their elder kin'toni with sturdy, safe, reliable homes with no windows and a big entranceway or foyer.

Each of these homes is roughly ten feet tall and cover close to 30 feet. The typical Ranther kin'toni home, which is made of stone, has a single room consisting of a floor made entirely of stones laid in clay spanning throughout the home's floor. The stone walls are painted with bright colours and the art is of the history of the home and the kin'toni in it. There is also a custom made oven that a kin'toni can use in terms of learning how to cook meat and such. This oven can often be lit with a tinderbox, but there is also a vast supply of wet earth available to put out the flames when the oven is not in use.

There are about five to seven kin'toni that live in a typical Ranther clan house. Because the kin'toni in this clan dedicate a good portion of their time to repairing and somtimes building houses for groups of kin'toni to live in it becomes somewhat of an urgency to make the house as sturdy as possible; as a matter of fact, some groups of kin'toni spend quite a few of their nights working on these houses. They typically use bronze to make some of their things, with other miscellaneous such things being made in either stone or wood.

==Government==

The Ranther clan has a rather unusual chain of command in their government. The Ranther clan's government, referred to by the Ranther clan themselves as the Kalai Iari, rules over the clan with an iron fist and gives them opportunities to express their freedoms as little as they can. There are four local sectors in this region and clan, with one of the sectors serving as the government's private sector, this is in the depths of a large cave known as the Deliberation Cave; the other three sectors, however, are public sectors that serve as the government's various public sectors.

Which include the military, finances, and common sense activities. The Kalai Iari, which is run by a council of three, one of which serves as the leader and the others in which serve as the enforcers of law and order; combined, these four local sectors comprise four local leaders and eight local law enforcers, and the leaders of each of the sectors control various entities of the clan, including the private and public archives and the clan's militia. It also covers the clan's use of currency and the clan's educational system. The leader whose local sector has the most responsibility and power.

Is considered in this clan to be the executive law and legislation proposer, whereas the leaders of the other three sectors are considered to be the deliberators of said legislative proposals. Once the leaders of the four sectors meet in the Deliberation Cave, all activity is done behind closed doors. Each of these suggestions and proposals will be discussed by the other three sector leaders and voted on following the deliberation, where an ancient coin is then tossed while the candles are lit. If the coin lands on its face, the suggestion will become law.

If otherwise the law will be forced into further revision. Each of the other three sector leaders has an opportunity to call heads or tails on such a law. Each leader gets an opportunity to force the suggestion into legislation, with the main sector leader being given the opportunity to pass the legislation, even if it hasn't been revised at that particular time. The leaders and law enforcers of each sector are determined through an arm-wrestling tournament, which anyone in the clan can get an opportunity to participate in; however, only the smartest and strongest will make it.

And the ones who succeed in the final tournament will get an opportunity to battle in another tournament, at which point the four winners of each match will get a chance to vie for leadership in the clan. The kin'toni that prevails in this multi-bracket, the multi-round tournament will become the clan's leader and the leader of the most important sector in the Zomil region, the public and private archives sector.

==Military==

The Ranther clan's military sector is governed by three local sector leaders, each of which serves as a co-commander of the Ranther clan's military, which is referred to by the Ranther government as the Zomilfa E'kaxuz. Anyone in the Ranther clan can join this military, even if they were just recently turned, but in the end, all applicants must have been fully and completely transformed. The three military sector leaders that govern the Zomilfa E'kaxuza have quite a unique set of responsibilities, with each of them serving their tenures as military commanders.

This is under the direction of the public and private archive sector leader, who is also the primary leader of the Ranther clan. The archive sector leader, who is regarded by the Ranther government as the Cazsa. In the event that the Cazsa must attend an important meeting in the Deliberation Cave the two other most important leaders of the military sector will be given shared responsibilities of which they must preside over the Zomilfa E'kaxuza and its main activities. There are important branches in this military, which include the Yaualja (Wall Patrol Corps) and the Neicex (Bog Defense Army).

All serve as one institution. Various missions are carried out across the Zomir region; and these missions, whether it be to protect and defend their rotting wooden wall that divides between the borders of their region and that of the Cutiausk and Pasomsul regions or to prevent invasions from taking place. They are critical in determining the balance of power between the offence and defence of the E'kaxuza. The Zomilfa E'kaxuza leaders often hold meetings in public with the population of the Zomilfa E'kaxuza present and in these meetings an open forum format.

Is used and everyone has an equal opportunity to have a say in what they want to do next in the military; given that, some legislative laws that are exclusive to the Zomilfa E'kaxuza are often proposed and even passed with the population of the Zomilfa E'kaxuza present at that particular time, usually. There is an application process when one vies for the opportunity to serve in the E'kaxuza: for instance, once a kin'toni is fully and completely turned he or she can apply for the E'kaxuz and any one of its branches, but only after he or she has been fully transformed into a kin'toni.

However, they will be given a unique obstacle course which was built by the leaders of the four local sectors of the Zomir region. A kin'toni can get into the E'kaxuza if they can complete the obstacle course in a set and given amount of time; however, if they are unable to complete that obstacle course in that amount of time they will be given the option to wait several years to try again or volunteer to be interviewed and question by the military sector's three leaders, at which point the applicant must answer truthfully to each and every question. They also have to beat a member of the Zomilfa E'kaxuz in a fight.

==Religion==

The Ranther clan's religion of choice is often known and referred to as Xunazin, which is generally considered in most kin'toni'ati cultures and regions as the worship of fire, the sky, and light. Xunazin is the religion of more than eighty to eighty-five per cent of the Ranther clan's population, with an estimated ten to fifteen per cent believing in a different religion or choosing to live. The story behind Xunazin is a very strange religion, although some of it actually pertains to the history of the Ranther clan; given this, Xunazin serves as a religion of ancient folklore.

Both of which are often considered to be popular among the Ranther clan and the vast majority of its population. According to an ancient book of novellas and short stories commonly known as the Bub'ran-tu, the early history of the Ranther clan revolves around an ancient fire-worshiper and is commonly referred to as Ran-tu. Ran-Tu was part of an early clan of kin'toni which existed during the early history of their existence, before the beginning of the Shattering. During her childhood, Ran-Tu was tormented and bullied by her peers and had very few friends in life.

After living a life of reclusive anonymity for several more decades and refusing to interact with other kin'toni, a kin'toni of the name Enthar came to her. He asked her if she wanted to join his newly-formed clan; after agreeing to join this clan she left everything behind to become perhaps one of the most revered fire-worshippers of all time. She, like Enthar, was a worshiper of light and the night sky. Although a slight majority of the Ranther clan that are Xunazists tend to lead a reclusive lifestyle, most of them are actually not all that hard to get along with.

As they tend to hold private worship masses in a cave that is suggested to be big enough to house a thousand kin'toni s. These worship masses involve a great deal of time and effort to make, with some of the Xunazists working into daylight hours to set up the preparation. These particular ceremonies involve the lighting of several large candles which have been said to be thousands of years in age and have seldom been lit before; furthermore, when the two candles are lit, a cave drawing is revealed to celebrate the life of the gods of their religion, Ran-Tu and Zeykal Enthar.

After the ceremony is completed the sermon begins. This sermon, which is often given by one of the religious advisors to the leaders of the archival sector, talks about the clan's formation and early history, as well as how it pertains to modern times and their endless struggle to stay alive.

==Miscellany==

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

{{CrossSiteAttribution
| User = [https://www.deviantart.com/iamtheskull Kevin Thomas Anderson], [https://sites.google.com/view/eytirth Stevie Lambert] (biology)
| Holder = Kevin Thomas Anderson, Stevie Lambert
}}

[[Category:1st-century Twilight Age kin'toni clans]]
[[Category:Kevin Thomas Anderson's contributions]]

Ranther Kin'toni Clan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)