Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:40:56Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Kin'toni clan
|Name = Tinang Kin'toni Clan
|Parent Groups = Unknown
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Kalir Tropical Mountains]]
|Date Founded = 4E 275
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

The members of the Tinang clan did not have an easy life, suffering and work was all that they knew for many years, to be a Tinang was to be inferior to every kin'toni, the most powerful clans called the group of workers that they owned and treated as slaves, by the name “Tinang”, which means that these kin'toni are not bound together by the region they come from or a particular biological characteristic, but by the experiences that they all have shared. Many Tinang now believe that this is, in fact, the strongest bond any being can have with another being.

This also means that the Tinang were spread throughout several different and powerful clans, these kin'toni usually took care of any hard labor, or jobs that required high levels of endurance and strength. Construction was usually the main focus of the Tinang in their respective clans, they worked for days at a time, until their backs could not take it anymore, or until their feet began to bleed. After these long days of hard work, they would get paid with a minimal amount of coin, if the clan had some sort of currency, or else in food and drink, although very little of it.

Being whipped was also part of their daily lives, for every task that was not performed to perfection, because that was what was expected of the Tinang, they would be stripped down, tied to a post and whipped or beaten until their backs were red with their blood, or until they were unconscious or wishing for their deaths. For a few years, the Tinang were also used as miners, the hard skin and raw power that they had developed from working so many hours with no breaks proved useful inside a mine and soon the kin'toni that owned the Tinang realized the potential of this beaten down group of slaves.

For almost a decade, they were relegated to working in mines, however, the conditions were so poor and different from those above ground, that they could not be used for long. Soon, the Tinang started becoming increasingly angry at their owners, something that would have been unthinkable until this point.
From that point, it only took a few months for the Tinang to start rebelling, little by little, and this reached its climax in the year 31 of the second Era, where Tinang from several different clans coordinated a revolt and murdered several of the kin'toni that had enslaved them.

This was known as the great slaughter of the first century and these clans that they originally belonged to, never got back to the position of power they once held. Afterwards, the Tinang all met up in a location they had previously chosen and decided to make their way, only with the things that they were able to steal, to the mountains in order to build a settlement where stability and safety were prioritized. To this day, the Tinang are still in the mountains, only coming down for rare occasion, such as gathering more members for their clan.

==Biology==

Leaving the cities where they were explored by their rulers was not an easy task, not only due to the fact that they had nowhere else to go and no allies that could provide them with safety and food, but also because of the geographical differences of the place they chose to go to: The mountains. The Kalir tropical mountains are one of the highest points in all of Taerel, they can be seen from miles and miles away, although their peaks are so high that they are covered by mist or by large clouds. This height posed some difficulties in the biological sense, with high terrains comes the lack of oxygen.

Despite the fact that the Tinang were very strong physically, they did not equate this particular aspect into their decision of moving into the mountains, which in hindsight was not the brightest decision, as they all admitted. Additionally, they had yellow irises with black sclerae and crescent pupils. The first few months were difficult, they had to stay almost at the foot of the mountain, because although this specific location meant that they were 400 meters above the water level, give or take, the air was already thin.

The Tinang lived almost a nomadic life for a few years, they would gradually move up the mountain so the lack of oxygen would not kill them instantly, there were some deaths when they moved to fast up the mountain, but the they took this as a signal that more time was necessary in order to adapt.
A few years later, the Tinang were able to reach a part of the mountain that allowed them to enter the caves that existed under it. They were already thousands of miles above sea level and almost any other kin'toni or zu'aan would be dead by now, however, the Tinang were surviving and, not only that, but thriving.

Furthermore, their skin had become much harder than the usual skin now that they employed their mining skills to create larger tunnels deep in the mountains. Tunnels that seemed to be as big as a small town. All of the hard labor of their past had made them physically capable of creating a settlement inside the mountain through sheer strength and endurance. For months dug and build with their hands and a few tools that they had stolen from their former clans, the nails on their fingers had become so strong that some even compared them to metal.

Unfortunately, the isolation that stemmed from being in the mountains for years, did have its negative effects on the biological characteristics of the Tinang. Over the years, the number of words that were spoken to on another reduced significantly, they had such automatized tasks that each day, when they woke up, the Tinang just followed the instructions on a piece of paper. Of course, this did not happen for every single member of this tribe, but slowly, the workers have been losing their ability to speak a language, they mostly rely on a few words now.

==Culture==

The society of the Tinang is more structured than that of most of the kin'toni and zu'aan clans and tribes. This is due to the fact that they had led organized and structured lives so far, lives that were decided by the rulers who had them whipped on the town’s square. Despite hating the place they were once in, the Tinang cannot get rid of the mentality that they had been brough up with and told they should follow until a few years ago. Now, they utilize this order and structure for their own benefit, there is no one that can tell them what to do, when to do it and how to do it, except for themselves.

They choose to keep living this way, albeit without the pain and punishment that had been, until now, associated with this type of living. Because of this, the people they infect each year, and there are not many of them due to the region they find themselves in, are immediately assigned to particular roles. A few experienced kin'toni that have received the name “Wahler”, are tasked with analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of these individuals and assigning them to a particular function, the Wahler are so proficient at what they do.

That the it is said that there has not yet been a kin'toni who has changed his or her function after being assigned by them. The Wahler assess the kin'toni through a variety of tests, some are physical tests in which the kin'toni need to set themselves apart through strength, stamina or agility; these then usually become warriors or miners. The mental faculty test is to analyze the way the kin'toni can solver intricate problems and the ones that pass this test usually become generals, tacticians or politicians. The female and the male kin'toni are divided by tasks.

It is rare for a female kin'toni to be in the army due to the fact that they are usually less capable physically but more proficient in the “mental faculty test”, which means most politicians, although not all, are female. Furthermore, the Tinang are almost disgusted by outsiders and tend to keep to themselves and their culture is focused on their experiences and challenges, not on those from foreigners, this is also why they only leave the mountains to infect zu'aan, although rarely, which also brings some problems. This hate for outsiders translates in the existence of a few hunting parties.

That roam the foot of the mountain. They slaughter every being on sight, be it kin'toni or zu'aan, they do not discriminate when it comes to protecting themselves. The Tinang are also tradition oriented, their ways are set in stone and for something to change, either something very serious has to happen, or the rulers have to make this choice. Even when they realize that something is not being done well, they feel proud of the way they have been doing it so far and, therefore, do not alter anything, this sometimes hinders their progress.

==Government==

What sets the Tinang apart the majority of kin'toni clans is their need for independence, there is an inherent trauma that every member of this clan has due to their former lives as slaves, or something very close to slavery. This need for independence can be seen in almost every aspect of the Tinang clan, even in their government. There are next to no connection with other kin'toni clans, even if they encountered a hypothetical clan that offered to help them in some way or another, the Tinang would either return to the mountains or kill every single member of this clan, there is not a single bit of trust for any outsider.

This, naturally, has some negative consequences, the Tinang are completely walled off politically from the rest of Taerel, which means that alliances are off the table, if they are invaded or attacked kin'toni or zu'aan, they have only their soldiers to fight with, which is not good strategically, because the other army might have alliances and, through that, a larger number of soldiers. However, this also means that the likelihood of them being attacked is inferior to that of a normal clan, the Tinang are not well known at all due to their obsession with independence.

One would think that a clan made up of former slaves and overworked workers would focus on the wealth and power disparities that exists within the clan itself. This is not the case, there is a huge discrepancy in power and respect given to the different members of the clan. The ones that perform worse on the tests they are given by the Wahler are considered the weakest members of society and the rulers do nothing to prevent this. On the contrary, the rulers perpetuate this system so that it can never be broken. These rulers are a small group of original Tinang members.

That have lived more than it is normal for a Tinang to live and that live secluded from the rest of the clan, which means that they have no idea how the members of their own clan are living and how things are progressing. If they knew, some changes might be made, however, the male and female kin'toni that advise the almost senile rulers are manipulating them and withholding information. They are the true rulers of this clan. This had led to quite a few uprisings, some of the soldiers are part of the group that underperformed according to the Wahler.

Which means that some of the uprisings were led by members of the military and some kin’toni were even killed. However, the advisors of the rulers still had the best and most talented soldiers on their side, because these ones were treated as members of high-society. In the end, every rebellion that has taken place so far, has failed. The original Tinang that are supposed to rule the clan are not even aware of this, they have been sheltered for years from any typo of information that could disrupt the status quo of the clan.

==Military==

The military of the Tinang clan is, at the same time, extremely strong and also relatively weak. First of all, it is strong due to several factors, the majority of the soldiers are well built and can easily kill without hesitation, their raw force allows them to swing hammers or swords that cut through or crush their opponents as if they have no bones. Along with the typical hammer that they have been working with even before they left their former clans, most Tinang carry a sword or a pickaxe. The swords are very heavy and a normal zu'aan or kin'toni is not able to carry one with them.

Besides, carrying one for long distances is very hard on the body, the Tinang only use them if they are expecting the enemy to come to the, which is most of the time. The pickaxe became popular among the members of this tribe as they turned more and more proficient in their mining ventures, the clans that have heard of the Tinang and that recognize the pickaxes of these kin'toni, tremble with fear. These weapons are created by the blacksmiths of the Tinang and all the raw materials come from the mines that have been created over the years.
Additionally, some of the Tinang rely on just their powerful hands and strong skin to fight opponents.

Although this is rare, it can be seen as a sign of bravery and one can rise in the ranks through this act. Finally, if the Tinang have infected any children, these cannot yet do the tests the Wahler require others to do, which means that these former zu'aan and now kin'toni children are brought up as fighters even if they are too young to fight. These kids are considered a valuable commodity, because eventually they become some of the best soldiers in all of Taerel, their skill is practically unmatched. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for other clans, the military of the Tinang has a big problem.

And it has nothing to do with the training of the soldiers, the gear, the generals or the motivation, most of the soldiers have never fought in an actual battle in an actual battleground, they have only fought with one another in training. This is mostly due to the fact that they keep to themselves, but experience definitely has a weight in a battle, the oldest warriors know that fighting in a real battle is very different from pretending to fight in one, because everything becomes real. The sweat becomes real, the pain, the exhaustion, even death becomes real.

The mountains themselves are very important for the army that the Tinang have created, there are small lookouts on the mountains that can take out any foreigner that tries to enter the Kalir tropical mountains. Furthermore, going up the mountains is an almost impossible task, even if there was not a problem with the oxygen levels, there are some parts that are almost impossible to climb without the biological characteristics of the Tinang.

==Religion==

Regarding religion and religious practices, the Tinang have a very extreme opinion on it. This opinion has been forming for ages, since the time many of those that later became Tinang were still enslaved. There were years in which they were actually quite religious and even prayed to a specific God, however, this has quickly changed. In the current days, the Tinang have what could be considered an anti-religious stance. They have identified several aspects of it and believe that these aspects of religion serve only one purpose, not improvement of the self or hope for the future.

Every single on of these aspects are ways to weaken the individual. The first aspect is the shame or the sin, that is associated with many of the religions in Taerel, several clans believe that there is a fixed set of rules that dictate what is and it not permitted. And if a kin'toni or zu'aan does something that goes against this fixed set of rules, then that is considered by religious people to be a sin. However, the Tinang believe that the only things that this leads to is a worthless feeling of shame and a barrier that one sets for himself and that can prevent one from doing a varied number of things.

Limiting your capabilities is considered, by all of the members of the Tinang clan, a terrible thing to do. The other problem they see in religion is the waste of time that it is. Instead of using that time in order to grow their clan, train their army or to work in the mines, it would be wasted praying to a God that is not real, according to them. Furthermore, all of the things that are built in the name of a deity, things such as locations for worship and monuments praising the Gods are nothing but an absolute waste of materials, for the Tinang.

Materials should be used in things that can actually propel one forward and, in this case, can benefit the clan. Lastly, religion for the Tinang shows something about the character of a person. The Tinang believe that if a kin'toni needs to resort to religion in order to survive, then that particular kin'toni has a weak character, the only way to live is to not depend on external factors. It is weak to use religion as a tool to overcome difficulties in one’s life, they should be dealt with without needing to use external factors as a crutch for misfortunes.

These are the reasons that religion is considered now a taboo topic inside the Tinang clan.

==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/mariocoelho1 Mario Reis]
| Holder = Mario Reis
}}

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

Tinang Kin'toni Clan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)