Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-10T12:41:26Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Kin'toni clan
|Name = Xisic Kin'toni Clan
|Other Names = Unknown
|Parent Groups = Unknown
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Demonym = Unknown
|Languages = Unknown
|Religions = Unknown
|Government Type = Unknown
|Population = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Swira Flooded Forest]]
|Allies = Unknown
|Rivals = Unknown
|Date Founded = 4E 412
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

The Xisic clan was founded when Jonar Xi took control of the Pharan family through winning a duel against its former head. He then made his way throughout the [[Swira Flooded Forest]] challenging the leaders of every family. Soon he had gained control over most of the region. Afterwards, he began instructing his people in his way of life and fighting methodology. Over time the clan built itself around his philosophy and pushed towards perfecting their skills in combat and traversal amongst the trees and the water. They shut off all travel in or out of the flooded forest and began attacking anyone who entered.

Those who survived and made it back to their own people told of being fired upon from high above before hearing shrieks that started far away and moved closer before being pounced on from every angle. As word spread, so did the fear of what could be lurking in that dreadful place. Jonar and his people began sending men to the edge of the wood and picking off those who passed by with tethered arrows and darts. For a time, this tactic sustained them and helped grow their numbers, but eventually people began to avoid the area all together. In response, they began sending their most beautiful women.

This is near the most travelled routes to coax people to draw near and to spread stories of treasure and beauty for the bravest and most worthy of people. This eventually spread to far off nations, and soon the forest saw many excursions into its heart as men sought the fabled treasure. Each expedition met its end at the hands of the Xisic clan. They always left a handful of survivors with stories of wondrous things and strange creatures. And so began the cycle that ensured the survival of the clan. People would journey into the forest in search of adventure, and the clan would lead many to their deaths while allowing others to survive.

As time went on, they even began leaving little treasures for the adventurous fools to discover. The heart of the forest became a drowned catacomb that glittered with whatever their victims had that was shiny. The Xisic doesn’t care for the belongings of the intruders or what may lay beyond the tree line. All that matters to them is the survival of their way of life. Stories about the fierce clan in the forest began to transform them into the monsters of nightmares, and some excursions into the flooded forest weren’t in search of any treasure. Surviving these hunts became a rite of passage for the warriors of the clan.

Those who took the heads of the most hunters gained rank and status within the clan and his family. Jonar left his position as head of the clan to the strongest of his warriors and set up a change in leadership based on skill that occurs every ten years. That done, the founder of the Xisic clan gave himself to flooded depths of the forest.

==Biology==

Other than the green irises, black sclera, and crescent-shaped pupils that are shared amongst all Kin’toni, the main features that denote a member of the Xisic clan’s warrior sect are their strong muscular form and claws that aid in travelling through the trees. Their arms and legs have become thick and tough through the lifetime of climbing trees and swimming in the waters of their home. Their fingers and toes have developed short claws that latch into the bark of trees and allow for better grip when they climb and jump through the trees. All of their movement and abilities are derived from their strength and athleticism.

Their quick movements are rooted in using gravity and their own strength to fling them through the air. As such they are slower if they are pulled out of the trees and into open ground. Their sense of smell and their eyesight is slightly heightened and used to track their targets through scent and to help with precision aiming for their archery and other ranged attacks. As most of their martial tactics are at range or using gravity to make their hits likely lethal upon impact, they are vulnerable to attacks if caught off guard or in mid drop.
The joints in the warrior’s arms and legs have developed a cushion.

This is to withstand the impact of a drop attack, yet this also makes them vulnerable to slashing attacks. In contrast to the warriors, the female siren sect of the clan, are more slender. Used to staying in the waters, they have developed webbing in between their fingers and toes as well as gills for when they are not out calling to passing travellers. From the heavy reliance on their voices and singing in particular, they have over developed lungs and diaphragms. This allows them to produce louder sounds in a myriad of ranges for extended periods of time.

As well as produced the piercing shrieks for when they are alerting the warriors of possible prey. Living in the waters has made them natural swimmers who can travel great distances and move in ways that might break others. However they are very fragile and ineffective when taken out of the waters. Their weakest point is where the diaphragm extends from their chest. Hitting them there with any force will make them unable to use their voice and stun them for a brief time. They have developed sleek rubbery skin to allow for faster movement in the waters. Extra vertebrae allow the sirens to bend and move in a serpentine way while swimming.

Both sects of the clan share a strong pronounced jawline and thin locks of very soft hair. Rounded cheeks and a wider mouth of mostly sharp fangs and incisors speak to the clan’s carnivorous diet. While their small ears and underdeveloped ear canal and drum prevents them from falling victim to the siren sect’s loud shrieks and screams when close. This underdevelopment makes it possible for them to be ambushed by cautious hunters.

==Culture==

The challenges of living in the flooded forest bred a determination into the members of the Xisic clan. The warriors make their home in housing much in the vein of spiderwebs, with multiple bridges branching from the trunks of trees to uphold the structures floating in the empty air. Wood and foliage, as well as cloth scavenged from the dead intruders, are used in the construction of the tree structures. Sleeveless tunics and kilts made of woven fibers are worn under slates of wooden panels for armour. The warriors all wear greens and browns to blend into their surroundings.

Masks of bone are worn to frighten all who enter their territory. There are no visible markings to denote familial ties or rank. However, such information is etched into the inside of their mask. The more ornate the etching around their family’s animalistic sigil, the higher the rank and more honour given. Within the Xisic, a family is determined by your maker and those he turns. Competitions for favour within the family units are held through tests of the skills needed to excel as warriors. Physical prowess is everything to them. If a clan member is wounded in a way that prevents them from being effective in battle.

They are killed and eaten by their family. A member of the warrior sect is not allowed to enter the waters at the heart of the forest. The only exception is the clan chief upon the time of his abdication. Outside of the joined training in clan tactics, warrior sect members spend little time with their siren sect sisters. The siren sect makes its home in the tangled roots of the massive trees at the heart of the forest. They shun clothing whenever they are submerged because it hinders their movements in the waters. When above the surface, they wear furs and hides to keep them warm.

Many of them weave smooth, shimmering stones and feathers and other beautiful things into their hair to catch the attention of their prey. Instead of bone masks like their tree-dwelling brothers, the women of the siren sect wear necklaces made of the finger bones of their victims. The longer the chain, the more favoured the sister. For the siren sect, familial units are determined by who they are given to after being turned. There are no mothers in the Xisic clan, only fathers, brothers and sisters. The sisters spend years training their voices to be pleasing to their prey and to shift into the high shrieks they use to call their brothers.

The loss of their voice spells the end for a member of the siren sect. If it is lost in battle, the sister will often fling themselves at the ones who wounded them. The reason is that for the sister who lost their voice, it would be better to die at the hands of their enemies than face the consequences of their fate at the hands of their fathers. The Xisic clan cares only for survival.

==Government==

As when the clan was first founded, the power of the clan rests in the hands of the strongest warrior. Underneath him are the fathers of the different families. The sisters within the siren sect have no power and are seen merely as tools to catch prey. The higher in rank and honour amongst the warrior sect, the more likely they will be the next to rule the clan. All decisions are made by the clan head. The world outside their forest is viewed as simply being the breeding ground for the prey of the clan. No one is allowed to move into their land. This isolationist mindset built in an ideology of superiority within the clan.

Thus there are no alliances. The will of the clan head is the law, and any disputes among clan members are settled in a fight to the death. If the clan head is challenged before his ten years has ended, then the title of clan head goes to the victor. The loser of such a match is devoured the clan head, and his bones are given to the sisters to adorn false clues and lures to pull in their prey. The role of the fathers, while also instructing those under them in the ways of the clan, also act as the tacticians in battle. The clan head gives them his orders for the clan and then leads from the front.

The clan head can replace the fathers if they are outshined in battle. The replaced father is then given to the sisters to be eaten. A clan head must not attempt to groom a successor. Any action to subvert the path of succession is punished by death. A traitors corpse is left untouched and flung from the forest. If the traitor is the clan head, he is killed, and his corpse is lashed to a tree on the border. After a new clan head takes power, those who have been in ten battles yet have not advanced out of the lowest ranks in both sects are cast out of the forest.

They may only return when they have collected 500 skulls. Seldom ever return. Amongst the siren sect, it is common for the sisters to follow the lead of the eldest among them. This sister is the only one who is allowed to speak with the clan head. Her fate is tied to his as she is taught to have herself be killed to protect him.
If a clan head dies, the eldest sister is also killed. If it's after the clan head is succeeded, the eldest sister will meet him at the very heart of the forest. He will dive into the waters, and she will swim to him while wearing a high collared fur.

Once together, she will wrap herself around him and pin them both to the lowest root of the trees. He, in turn, will pull the coat tightly over her gills to prevent her breathing easily, and they both drown.

==Military==

The entirety of the Xisic clan is built around military might. Moving as the weapons and teeth of the flooded forest, they are rarely put at a disadvantage in terrain. Seeing themselves as superior to all others, they will attack any who challenge them by entering their realm in force. Bows, daggers, darts, and claws are the basis for the martial arts the warrior sect practices. Focusing on ranged attacks and the use of gravity and momentum to turn strong attacks into brutal ambushes, the competitive clan members care more about increasing the number of people they kill over fighting a protracted duel.

They make their bladed weapons from the bones of their prey. At the same time, their bows are crafted from wood taken from the heart of the forest. The bows are strung with cords made of the hair of the slain members of the siren sect. Due to the massive physical nature of a Xisic warrior, it is often the case that their bows and arrows would fall under the category of a greatbow in the records of any other clan. When not in battle, the warrior sect spends every day training and competing in order to perfect their skills and tactics. Tests of accuracy are some of the most regularly practised.

The training starts soon after they are turned and are often the most brutal trials any clan member can endure. There is no easing the new members into the life of a warrior. They either succeed, or they die and go on to better serve the worthy. They are trained not to waste time or energy in melee fights. Instead, they are trained to attack using gravity to make the first strike lethal. If such a move isn't possible to perform, the warrior is trained to knock their prey into the waters for their sisters to deal with. The siren sect is first and foremost trained to be distractions and lures for any passing prey.

To accomplish this, they spend much of their time practising their singing and soft whispering. They train to be able to shift how their voice sounds to appear to be many different people and lure in unsuspecting Zu’Aan. Once the trap is sprung, they let out a high pitched ear-splitting shriek to alert their brothers in the trees. Such loud sounds are also used to disorient and stun their prey if they move to attack. If anyone gets into the waters, they are taken under by the sisters. They will then move to suffocate, rip apart, swarm and devour, or crush their victims.

If any target gets close to the heart of the forest, the sisters will fly out of the waters in attempts to fling the invaders into the tree trunks or impale them on branches. Some have even taken the weapons of their prey in order to kill them in any way possible. However, if either is encountered outside the forest, especially on open ground, they prove far less challenging and vulnerable to attacks.

==Religion==

The survival of the strongest is the religion of the Xisic clan. From the moment they are turned, every member of the clan is tested to see if they are worthy of survival. To the clan, any weakness is reason for death. They chase the title of being the strongest. This is especially true of the men of the warrior sect. They obsess over their martial prowess and equate such skill with power over life and death. Any Kin’toni not a part of their clan is seen as lesser, weaker beings that deserve death. In the same vein, they see Zu’Aan as both food and potential clan members.

However because of that potential for them to become part of the clan, Xisic clan members can be extra vicious to make sure the Zu’Aan is worthy of the chance to become one of them. Within their own ranks, the clan is strict about routing out any hints of weakness. Minor slips in performance are severely corrected and tested to make sure it wasn’t the first signs further weakness. All wounds are left untreated until they go through a tough training sequence to show they are still capable of fighting. Only once they can complete the sequence without even a single error are they allowed to patch any wounds.

The slightest mistake during the test ends with an arrow into the back. There is never a second chance. If it’s the loss of a limb the warrior if killed with a word. Due to their desire to be the strongest, the warriors don’t pay attention to their sisters in the siren sect and while they also seek to prove their strength, they seek to strengthen the clan as a whole. Amongst the sisters a minor mistake is covered up if possible. But if they’re unable to keep the clan strong they are encouraged to sacrifice themselves in battle instead of letting the warrior sect find out.

As a general rule they are taught to believe that only when they face their possible death are they ever truly strong. Nearly everything they do holds death as a possibility. They even developed their drop attacks to specifically be as dangerous to themselves as possible because they believe it is the only way they can prove their strength. And when one of them dies they are fed to the rest to give their strength to the whole clan. T here is only one instance where they refuse to eat their dead. If someone tries to gain power without strength and cheats on the path to succession, they are killed and removed from the forest.

The Xisic believe they can assimilate the strength of nature by staying in their forest and close to the three massive trees that lay at the heart of the forest. That location is special to them because those trees are the strongest things in the forest. They seek to make that strength their own as well as honour that strength with their greatest warriors.

==Miscellany==

Outside of Jonar Xi, no member of the Xisic take names. Even Jonar forsook his when the clan was formed. After being turned, a female member of the clan is dropped into the waters from the trees. This is their first test of strength as if they’re strong they will survive it long enough for their new sisters to help them. It is far more likely for someone to encounter an exiled male member of the Xisic than a female due to the female being dependent on swimming in water to be effective in combat. Recently turned male clan members are forced to sleep on bare tree limbs until they are deemed ready to train.

Warrior sect members shape their arrowheads like the animal they wish to reflect. The refuse to use vines to travel through the forest because it’s too safe. Instead they launch themselves from branch to branch. While both arms and legs are incredibly strong, warriors will refuse to kick when doing a drop attack. They claim it’s because they must always face their opponents head on. They never stop an attack or call retreat. To do so is an admission of weakness and any who attempt it are killed. While a warrior will be killed for losing a limb, only losing their voice equals death to a sister.

The warriors sleep in separate small rooms with nothing to individualise them, while the sisters sleep in one large open space and collect different treasures they like. There have been three attempts by an eldest sister to kill a clan head, each time it failed due to another sister stepping in. Jonar never had an eldest sister to finish the succession ritual with. He held himself at the bottom of the submerged roots until he drowned. Jonar created the succession ritual to hide the fact he was dying from his old injuries. The wood used for their bows and arrow shafts come from the tops of the trees in the forest.

Hunting an animal is considered a solemn experience that the hunter should experience alone. Those skilled with throwing darts and daggers often challenge themselves by aiming for ever smaller targets on a body, while the archers only want to kill in one hit. The sisters will listen to their prey for a bit to see how best to lure them in. Some have even attempted to disguise themselves as a prey’s loved one. Most Xisic daggers are curved on the hilt while straight on the blade. Their darts however are always completely straight. No Xisic would use poison because they think it’s sign of weakness.

If a Xisic gets sick they are killed to prevent weakness from spreading. Some warriors will put bark on their knuckles to add to the blunt force damage. Others will use daggers for added ripping damage. To brace their wrists, warriors will add small branches to their arms for use in climbing and moving extremely fast through the trees. Some even add blades to act as catches on tree limbs.

{{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/xoishtar xoishtar]
| Holder = xoishtar
}}

[[Category:5th-century Twilight Age kin'toni clans]]
[[Category:xoishtar's contributions]]

Xisic Kin'toni Clan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)