Cnabelenus Tribal Zu'Aan

History

The Cnabelenus were a primmitive zu'aan clan who lived in the bogs of the Fihenuvaran Blanket bog. They were founded by a distinguished zu'aan who went by the name of Itheneuus Lafahilfan. The were among the few zu'aan who inhabited the pisonous wastelands of the reion and were founded as a result of a catastrophic upwelling o gases that decimated the majority of the surface dwelling zu'aan of their times. Itheneuus was a distinguised hunter who had mastered the skill of stealth and stalking along with the extraordinary ability to swim underneath the bogs giving him an increased speed and mobility within the conventionally restricting environment.

Most of the remaining survivors gravitated towards his leadership, once they had to restructure themselves after the catastrophic events. The clan were known for their detailed understanding of their habitat along with the location of poisonous hazards and untraversable tracts of land. They lived off fruit bearing trees and amphibious animals which were found aplenty in the region. They were never in shortage of any food supplies as long as they had capable hunters and gatherers to collect the resource.

The conditions of their habitat seirved as a natural deterrant against any invaders and sustained their survival for as long as they did. Their culture would develop with time and the clan began to pick up many intricate painting and carving skills which they used to decorae the trees and the environment surrounding them. The clan was also known for its military presence and their policy of conquests which saw them conqquer many smaller clans and tribes of the region who they radually assimilated into their numbers.

Their numbers would expand rapidly throughout their history, reaching their peak of a almost a thousand by the dawn of the second era. They also gained many enemies as a result of their activities and were in a constant state of war as a result. Their military was famed for the use of strong and sturdy bows carved out from he branches of the Teu trees that grew all over the region. They were masters of this art and could string poweful bows that could shoot projectiles for over hundreds of meters across the battlefield.

Their unprecedented range gave them a significant advantage in battle where they could engage their enemies way before they were dedtected or in range of their weapons. For all their successes in the battlefield, the clan were never able to successfully establish themselves as a proper civiliation with buildings and structures. This was due to the conditions of their habitat that was filled with soft mud and unstable ground. One of their most ambitious city building projects would go to waste during the reign of Iltheneuus Lafahilfan when the structures collapsed under their own weight and sank below the soft ground.

The clan has since never attempted any building proects on the surface and are satisfied with living on treetops or on any surface that stood above the bogy ground. They constructed only basic platforms and surfaces over which they could reliably pitch their tents and rest their heads. Their government and administrations also never developed with them and they remained a very primitive and tribal organiation even after all of their conquests. They had a hard time in imposing themselves on any region or conducting effective diplomacy and theys had to rel on brute force for all of their conquests.

Psychology

The psychology of the Cnabelenus tribal zu'aan clan were driven on their tribal beliefs and loyalties. They were fairly isolated because of the location of their habitat which was in the middle of a poisonous bog that couldn't be accessed by anyone unfamiliar with the region. The region had a mix of noxious gases and deadly bogs that could swallow entire caravans whole, thus keeping the region away from the reach of trade caravans and invading armies. Technologies as well as mindset here were very primitive and the people lived as they had for centuries.

Itheneuus raised his clan with a very aggressive mindset and a love for thei land. He imparted in them a belief that the region was entitled to them by right and that every other people who attempted to or inhabited the lands were intruders- going against the wishes of the Gods. This mix of religion and aggressiveness was a potent mix that would turn the clan into a very territorial clan who believed that they were the favored of the gods. They believed that their conquests were divine undertakings and thus they could not be defeated.

They were very conservative and protective of their culture and were unwilling to welcome any visitors, including friendly tourists who were only trying to learn more about the region. They believed that every outsider was out to get them and that giving them more information about the area would only lead to more ambitious clan's making their way into the region to conquer them. Despite their primitive beliefs and backwardness, the Cnabelenus were famed for their almost obnoxious levels pride for their culture.

They considered themselves the chosen ones of the Gods and regarded themselves superior to others in every aspect. This was apparent in the way they addressed and talked about other groups amongst themselves. They were rarely respectful and expected everyone to adapt to their way of lives. They were also known to be very vain and vanity was a prominent aspect of their personal lives. They dressed themselves in elaborate clothing and used many natural methods of coloring along with potions to accentuate their facial features and appearances.

It was common to regard a person based on his appearance as the levels of makeup and adornments would increase based on the person’s rank and position within the society. The Cnabelenus were born with an innate desire to dominate and impose their ways on others- by force or through other means. This mentality was a major cause for their constant fights and conquests that the clan would embark on during their campaigning season. Fighting and arguments were a regular part of their everyday lives and activities that every person had to participate in to be considered a true member of the clan.

People who exhibited more reclusive and pacifist attitudes quickly became outcasts and were constantly ridiculed within society. This fighting spirit made them a very formidable opponent who could not be easily kept down and would continue fighting even when they had nothing to gain from it.

Culture

The Cnabelenus zu'aan clan had a distinct culture that revolved around combat and glory. War and fighting occupied a prominent position in their lives and were the most effective ways to acquire a reputation within the clan. Most of the clan's leaders and their most prominent members of their society had made their name through their bravery and achievements in combat and it was seen as the only way to progress one's status in society. This culture began with Itheneuus Lafahilfan who was a famous hunter and warrior and distinguished himself for his skill with the bow and arrow.

As well as his revolutionary methods of stealth and movement by swimming along the bogs of the region. His reputation made the surviving zu'aan receptive to his ideas when he proclaimed himself as the leader of their new clan that he would name the Cnabelenus. This set the precedent for many of the clan's leaders following after him, who were all distinguished members in some combat capacity. Wars were viewed as crucial opportunities to make their own reputation and were thus approached in an almost religious fashion.

The clan's high priest and priestesses would assemble the clan before they headed out to combat and would bless both warrior and weapon with ancestral chants that were meant to grant them super heroic abilities and bravery in combat. It was considered dishonorable in the clan to return from a defeat and the armies were expected to fight to the death if needed. The Cnabelenus had little thought of consequences and strategic value of their battles and were more concerned with the social and cultural advantages that they could gain from such opportunities.

Debate and arguments featured prominently in Cnabelenus culture and the clan provided many opportunities for their members to hone their skills in these abilities. These platforms included the Leaders court which was held weekly as an opportunity for disagreements to be solved and for opposing parties to bring forth their arguments which were given a fair hearing and debate. A successful member of the tribe was expected to be sharp with his wit and tongue as he was with bow and arrow.

Stuttering and losing a debate would earn the mockery of the clan and were very damaging to one's reputation and standing within the clan. The Cnabelenus's culture was known for embracing many art styles and designs that could be found engraved into trees and weapons. Their drawings and art were also drawn on many of the trees of the region with white sap. Since they were also very fashionable folk, they regularly designed their dresses and clothing with intricate designs and patterns along with adornments of precious stones and elements.

The culture was known for its refined taste and regard for personal appearance and it was customary for people of the higher classes such as leaders and renowned military folk to be dressed in the most elaborate clothing and makeup. They considered themselves to be the best and most refined among the zu'aan because of their dressing sense and refined appearance. They prided themselves and their culture as superior to all other clans and forced many of their defeated enemies to adopt their ways.

Government

The Cnabelenus tribal zu'aan clan had no organized form of government and administration. It worked on the principles of tribal loyalty towards the clan and the leadership of a strong and powerful character who could impose himself over the rest of his challengers. The zu'aan of the region were expected to follow his lead on every matter and in turn, the leader was supposed to dictate the policies and make decisions for their welfare. The leader served both as the head of civilian affairs as well as a military general in times of war.

His knowledge in both these affairs were taken for granted and his decisions were taken as the supreme wishes of the gods. This pattern of government was first started off by their founder, Itheneuus Lafahilfan. He was known for his skills in military and combat affairs and his aggressive personality which helped him impose himself over all the other powerful personalities vying for the same position. His first decision as the leader of the group was to form them into an organized society that could function as a single unit.

He was very ambitious and intended to turn them into a purely militaristic clan to fulfil his plans for a total conquest of the region. He placed a major responsibility on the clan's ability to fight and win wars. This was the major factor that most of the clan's organization was based around. He was adamant about it and made it mandatory for every member of the clan to be part of the military structure. Itheneuus assumed all other responsibilities such as the justice and religious duties of the clan.

He held court weekly where disgruntled members of the clan brought forward their complaints and dissatisfaction within the clan. His rulings in these matters were considered as final and could not be challenged by any member of the clan. He also prescribed the punishments for any criminal activity and was known for his harsh sense of justice. Executions were common among the clan and he would regularly issue the punishments himself. As leader of the clan, he declared himself as the chosen one of the gods and their chief representative on the world.

This meant that he had many other religious duties and obligations which he performed during their ceremonies and festivals. His clan members would regularly flock to him to seek his blessings which were greatly valued and thought to bring luck. He was not always successful in his role as the government of the clan. His most famous failure was his decision to build a city in the middle of the Fihenuvaran bogs, which collapsed soon after its completion due to the unstable conditions of the region and the soft boggy conditions which swallowed the structures whole.

Military

Itheneuus was a reputed soldier and was known for his combat and hunting skills. He was proficient in the use of the tribe's distinctive bow and arrows that were crafted off their Teu trees and was known for his skills at stealth and stalking his prey. He devised and mastered a new form of movement beneath the surface of the bog that was both faster than the conventional way of wading through the mud. He would spread this knowledge among the military and help them massively improve their mobility as well as their ability to operate in their environment.

These skills would help them become one of the deadliest armies in the Fihenuvaran bog region. He himself had been a part of many armies and campaigns against many local tribes before the formation of the Cnabelenus clan. He would build his reputation as a fierce fighter in the battlefield and a charismatic leader who naturally commanded the respect of the men under him. The military was essential to the clan as it served more than the clan's need for conquest and domination.

It provided an avenue for the bravest and ablest members of the clan to gain their own reputations and social status by distinguishing themselves through their abilities and actions in combat. The military became the way in which the clan identified its potential successors for leadership and any important position within the clan. When Iltheneuus first formed a military, they were no more than an organized group of the bravest and most aggressive members of the tribe. He would slowly make reforms and policies to turn the entire clan into a military.

This meant that the entirety of their membership were all trained for combat and expected to serve in the army during wartime while returning to their secondary professions during peace. This provided them with a numerical advantage in most of their engagements and helped them win many wars against their smaller neighbors. The clan's military fought in a style that was very reminiscent of their earlier lives as hunters and gatherers. They relied heavily on their understanding of the environment to lead their enemies into the poisonous traps that dotted the entire surface of their habitat.

They were known for their mobility within the region and their ability to use stealth in their deployment. They carefully hid their movements until their final attacks, making it impossible to predict their actions beforehand. In combat they were known for their use of long ranged weapons that they could deploy with lethal accuracy along with their ability to sneak into enemy camps and decimate entire fields before the battle had even started. They were known to be very brutal in war and known for their policy of not taking any prisoners.

They were very primitive in this regard and had not adopted the other clan’s systems of holding hostages and using them as leverage or for prisoner exchanges and ransom. They were known to kill all the enemy's survivors on makeshift sacrificial altars that they constructed on the battlefield soon after their victories. Their brutal methods made them feared and did not win them any allies among the more civilized zu’aan.

Religion

The Cnabelenus zu'aan clan were very devout worshippers of their local god that they named Lenus. The people believed that Lenus was responsible for the creation of the world as well as all that things that inhabited it and had particularly made the bogs of the Fihenuvaran region to be occupied by their people. This was an ancestral belief of the region that existed long before the existence of the Cnebelenus. Their founder, Itheneuus Lafahilfan was a devout worshipper himself and actively promoted the religion amongst his clan's members.

He would mix in some of his own words with the local's beliefs to help his own cause. He imparted in them a belief that the region was entitled to them by right and that every other people who attempted to or inhabited the lands were intruders- going against the wishes of the Gods. This mix of religion and aggressiveness was a potent mix that would turn the clan into a very territorial clan who believed that they were the favored of the gods. He taught the clan that their conquests were divine undertakings and thus they could not be defeated by any of the other godless and heathen people of the region.

The people in turn, considered themselves the chosen ones of the Gods and regarded themselves superior to others in every aspect. As the leader of the clan, Iltheneuus would declare himself as the chosen one of the gods and their chief representative on earth. This meant that he had many other religious duties and obligations which he performed during their ceremonies and festivals. His clan members would regularly flock to him to seek his blessings which were greatly valued and thought to bring luck.

There were other orders of priest and priestesses who administered his words to the local populace. They were people chosen by Iltheneuus himself for their loyalty to him and their zealous beliefs in Lenus. He was the head of this priestly body and presided over their most prestigious ceremonies and meetings. He made this strategic choice to place himself at the head of this religious body because he was aware of their ability to manipulate the people’s beliefs and wanted to avoid any attempts by this class to cause or lead an insurrection.

Religion played an important role in the clan and a religious ceremony was held before and after every undertaking including wars or crowning of their new leaders. The clan's high priest and priestesses would assemble the clan before they headed out to combat and would bless both warrior and weapon with ancestral chants that were meant to grant them super heroic abilities and bravery in combat. It was considered dishonorable in the clan to return from a defeat and the armies were expected to fight to the death if needed.

It was their belief that Lenus would only accept the souls of the brave warriors into the afterlife and that the cowards would be doomed to roam an eternity under the muddy layers of their bogs.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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