Calia Kin'toni Clan

History

The Calia kin'toni are an ancient tribe that were part of the original soldiers created by the zu'aan to be warriors. They were founded and led by two friends who fought their way out of the zu'aan camps they were kept in. They managed to escape during the great rebellion that brought down the zu'aan empire. During their escape they managed to free some of the kin'toni they were trapped with, and before they knew it, they had a large group of kin'toni, about 700, moving with them through the forests as they ran away from the destruction. This is how their clan was founded.

The Calia moved through the forests for quite some time. They divided themselves into groups to make sure that their large group wouldn't be detected. One group would move to a certain checkpoint, and wait for the second group before moving on, the second group would, in turn, wait for the third and so on. It was after all a difficult time where some kin'toni were being ruthless and were not satisfied with just rebelling, but wanted to take power and form empires of their own.

The Calia, though they wanted to be free of zu'aan rulership, they did not want to partake in violence against other kin'toni. So these warriors used their skills to survive rather than to subjugate. Reluctant to raid other clans because that would mean violence against other kin'toni, the Calia relied on stealth to get scavenged food from villages they came across. This of course meant that what they would get wasn't always enough to feed them for long. The two clan founders decided to go ahead of their clan and scout out the land they were coming close to, the Ila Mushroom Fields.

It looked like a good place to settle down, but the leaders soon discovered that the mushrooms though abundant and with great nutritional and medicinal purposes, were not altogether harmless. The mushrooms also caused terrifying hallucinations. But the Calia leaders were confident that they could survive effects and find a way to manipulate them to their advantage. The Calia settled for living in the caves just above the mushroom fields and have thrived ever since. As part of their ideology of peace, the Calia decided that they wouldn't grow their numbers by converting either, other kin'toni or by enslaving or converting any of the zu'aan clan.

Their caves have kept them relatively safe from danger. Thus the Calia is known as the ancient ones. Only one of their clan founders has died. The remaining clan member still presides over the clan. Because of their location, the Calia has managed to take advantage of their resources, the mushrooms, for medicinal purposes even for other clans. The other name for the Calia is the healers. Many come to them for their renowned healing abilities through these mushrooms. They also managed to tame the large birds found in their habitat and use these birds as a means of transportation.

Psychology

The Calia, or the healers as they are known by some clans, maintain an ideology of peace. From the start, they were never interested in fighting or gaining territory. They were not interested in growing their clan for any form of influence. They became one clan through the mixing of their blood. But they did this largely as a symbol of unity and a commitment to each other. Out of all the kin'toni clans, the Calia are more than just a clan that operates with honour, but they are a clan that is known for patience.

Being isolated in the caves of the Ila Mushroom Fields, they have relied on meditation and mind training to achieve this. They have also used their difficult environment as a way to tame themselves. It took a great effort of patience for an example to tame the great birds that are found in the Mushroom Fields. These birds can be extremely dangerous not just because of their large size but because of their highly predatory nature when they feel threatened. Naturally, when the Calia moved into the fields, the birds felt threatened as another species had moved into their territory.

A few Calia died in the process of taming the birds, but the Calia eventually prevailed. Despite the healing properties of the Mushroom fields, the fallen Calia could not be saved. "The mind is the most powerful tool you possess, and the body is simply a vessel to carry the mind, thus to keep the mind sharp, the body must be maintained." This is a Calia proverb that they live by. They can often be found meditating with the rising of the sun and with the setting of it too. They believe in being mindful of everything you do with your body, being conscious of everything you put the body through.

Not without merit, the Calia is considered a wise clan. But it must be noted that they are also a shrewd clan. They believe in helping anyone and everyone who needs their help, but they closely guard the secrets on the Mushroom lands because they believe not many can handle the properties that this precious resource provides. Many lone kin'toni have been known to wander into the Calia territory looking to be sheltered. But the kin'toni never allow them to stay beyond a day and they never allow them to leave with any piece of the Mushroom fields.

They now believe themselves the guardians of this sacred land, therefore they take every precaution to guard the fields. The Calia does not believe in punishment, but they believe in enlightenment. They have been fortunate to have most of their clan members believe in this way of thinking too, but the few times that a clan member went rogue, the Calia have chosen to rectify this rebellion through the properties of Mushrooms. Some would say that this in itself is punishment and torture because what the rogue kin'toni experiences when consuming this special mix is physical pain that they cannot stop for at least two days.

But the Calia, choose to term this enlightenment because they believe that through this pain the rogue kin'toni will be enlightened to see the error of their ways. The kin'toni that survive this enlightenment often have to be isolated from the clan for a few weeks before they can be re-inducted into the clan.

Biology

The Calia Kin'toni Clan is adapted to the chilly, colorful and damp Ila Mushroom Fields. They are compact, slightly hunched, and robust of build. This is an adaption to keep in heat and to fit under the often low mushroom caps. Their skin has blotches of bright colors to blend into the colorful mushrooms. The skin is covered in scales of keratin, also in bright colors. These protect from waterlogging and against acidic fungal seepage. Between the scales, there are large pores, adapted to rapidly vent humidity.

Their hair is thick, oily and dense, in bright colors like their skin and scales. The hair is slightly hydrophobic, adapted to repel moisture and insulate the core temperature regulation points of the head. Their eyes are bright violet in color, adapted for low low-light vision. These eyes also have an UV-sensitive membrane to locate bioluminescent fungi. Their ears are large, pointed and with large amounts of veins to act as heat exchanges to remove heat when the air becomes too humid or stagnant for efficient cooling via evaporation.

Their hearing is adapted to be good at localizing sounds in fields crowded with dense mushrooms, but the inner ears are heavily insulated, making it hard for them to hear quiet or distant sounds in open terrain. Their noses are long, and wide, with large openings. Their olfactory system is adapted to be able to distinguish between fungal species with precision and track prey by being tuned by the complex pheromones and breakdown products of fungal metabolism. The nose is highly vascularized, able to filter the air of harmful fungal spores and chemical irritants using complex mucus membranes.

The teeth are broad, with serrated molars and reinforced incisors. These teeth are adapted to be able to grind and pulverize tough fungal husks and chitinous spores for filtration. The taste buds are changed to be specialized for their fungal environment. These taste buds are able to detect the trace mineral and nutrient content in fungal matter. This allows them to quickly learn what the most valuable foraging sources are. Their claws are short, blunt and have a spoon-like shape, adapted not for combat, but for gathering.

These claws can gently scrape and separate valuable fungal spores and mycelial threads from damp soil and decaying matter. Their feet are large, broad and with long, wideset, thick toes. This allows them to grip and balance on the often wet grass, logs and stone of their home. Specialized glands in the liver and lymph nodes are adapted to safely sequester and neutralize common mushroom toxins, allowing them to be immure to local toxins. Their bodies also produce a flow of an fungicidal agent in the bloodstream and mucus.

This protects the kin'toni from systemic fungal infections common in the damp fields. Their bodies need a specific, complex set of fungal-derived trace minerals. This makes them susceptible to rapid, debilitating deficiency if they leave the fungal environment. They also have weakened RNA mechanisms that regulate UV protection. This make them to suffer instantaneous and severe burns upon contact with sunlight.

Culture

The Calia has made it a purposeful point not to convert or induct anymore into their tribe. The Calia believe that what the zu'aan began was an unholy practice, which is why it ended up being their demise. Thus the Calia believe that converting any humanoid, especially the zu'aan would be repeating history and bringing misfortune on themselves. However, that may soon pose a challenge. The Calia started as a group of about 700. Over the centuries, they have dwindled to 500. If they persist in not converting any other humanoids, they may soon become extinct kin'toni.

As a secretive clan that likes to keep its knowledge quiet, the Calia are not in the habit of keeping written records. They do, however, keep records of some of their medicinal formulae, but this is well guarded within their territory. They tend to pass on their knowledge through oral tradition and practice. And even then only select Calia are privy to all the formulas at their disposal. The ordinary Calia is aware of the basic knowledge used for healing purposes. The Calia have made their homes and their living places within the caves of the mushroom fields.

The caves are deep and numerous and can be very intimidating. The advantage of the caves is that they are interconnected. The Calia has come up with a system that allows them to move through the caves without ever having to step outside. This is particularly useful in the rainy seasons and on days the sunlight is too intense. The Caves have an abundant water source within them as well. This freshwater when used to water the fields produces an abundant harvest with very particular properties that prolong health.

The Calia harvest the mushrooms during particular seasons every year, but they do not harvest more than twice a year. They believe in preserving the fields and letting them bloom as much as possible. It is considered a sacred ritual, thus Calia has created festivals around the harvest times. They begin their harvest with a meditation in the morning, just before the sun rises. They divide themselves into five smaller groups of a hundred and take a section of the field. Each group harvests a different type of mushroom.

The Calia is fully invested in this task that they dress in special robes to do it. They harvest with their hands and small knives for the more deeply rooted plants. They do not use any other technology in harvesting because they want to get the mushrooms and plants in their purest forms. The mushrooms and other plants are then stored in large containers in a cave of their own. It is from this 'storehouse' that each family receives its rations every two weeks. The priests have control over the storehouse because it is also from this harvest that they mix the various medicines and liquid elixirs for various purposes.

After the harvest, the Calia hold a celebration, thankful for the harvest that they have collected. It is a seven-day festival that is filled with music and the drinking of elixir from the mushrooms.

Government

The Calia doesn't believe in subjugating any kin'toni, including their clan. However, their system of governance still follows a semblance of hierarchy. The Calia refer to their leadership style as stewardship rather than rulership. They say the only reason they have this in place is to ensure some form of peace, order and discipline within the clan. The original clan founder still presides over Calia. It is believed that there are properties within the plants and mushrooms of the field that continue to sustain him.

His co-founder was killed in the early days when the Calia was still trying to tame the great birds of the region. The clan founder watches over the clan with the medicinal priests. Below them are the priests' assistants, then the rest of the clan. The priests and their assistants work as judges among the clan members, passing out rulings and keeping the peace. The priests are a group of fifty and so are the assistants, an assistant for every priest. Anytime a priest dies, they are replaced by their assistant who would have full knowledge of the priest they served under.

That assistant then appoints a new assistant from the clan. The priests preside over two groups of a hundred each within the clan. The clan founder holds regular meetings with the priests to discuss any newly gained knowledge about the fields, to sort out any problems that they might be facing and to hear any news on how the clan members are doing. Essentially the clan leader also acts as the final verdict on matters the priests might not have been able to resolve. It remains a pertinent question who is going to take the lead once the clan founder passes on.

This is known through the accounts of the few who've been privileged enough to visit the Calia and stay longer than a day. In such cases, they may have needed extreme medical attention. The rumour they have heard through some Calia members is that the clan leader refuses to talk about his eventual demise. That this is a question that plagues the priests but they cannot press it further as it may seem like they want the demise of the Calia. Only the future will tell what will happen to the dynamics of Calia stewardship once the clan founder passes on.

If true, this is perhaps an indication of how the Calia may like to believe theirs is an egalitarian system that operates in the best interests of everyone, but that this may not be entirely true. It demonstrates the cracks that can be found even in the most well-intentioned systems. No doubt this is most likely to bring forth fighting over power if the clan founder does not establish something soon. This could be the end of the Calia as they are known. However, there's hope that the centuries of abiding by their principles may yet to prove as beneficial as the fields have been to the Calia.

Military

The military wing of Calia is very limited. This is because the Calia do not believe in participating in the kin'toni wars, nor are they interested in dominating any other clans. They have been approached for alliances several times by several kin'toni clans, including from the three main kingdoms: the Adon, the Itkali and the Ashat. Each time, the Calia declined the invitations to the alliances. However, their refusal is seen as defiance and arrogance, especially by the ruling elite.

One can surmise that the main reason for wanting an Alliance with the Calia is the value of the Ila Mushroom Fields. It is known that the fields used to be used quite frequently by the zu'aan during their reign. No zu'aan lived in them but their plants and products were used for medicinal purposes. Some kin'toni clans likely possess similar knowledge to the Calia about the mushroom properties, knowledge from lost zu'aan records. For this reason, Calia is seen as selfish for not wanting to share these fields in a way that is acceptable to everyone.

The Calia know that they are in danger from other kin'toni groups for refusing to form alliances. Thus they have a military wing that they like to refer to more as a guard unit. Fifty Calia is trained in rigorous combat skills. They don't participate in most activities except the harvest as part of a ritual. In such cases, the Calia has trained the birds to be sentries in their stead. The birds a trained to give outcalls as they fight off the intruders. They mostly stand guard at the entryways and watch over the clan in shifts.

They are divided into five groups of ten. Each group is headed by a captain and his deputy. The guards rotate shifts at set hours, to make sure the fields and the clan are constantly guarded. The Calia guards are fierce in combat. They are trained in both swords and daggers for close combat. The Calia have trained themselves to be agile and swift. They have used their environment to their advantage. The mushroom fields are found in a mountain range. The fields themselves are like a valley within the mountain range, and the caves are found just a little bit above this valley.

The valley is surrounded by tall trees that make the vision of the valley difficult. The Calia has learned to fight off any enemies from the trees and swiftly move in for the kill while the enemy is distracted. To date, the Calia guard is still intact and none have fallen yet. This is mainly because the Calia has not had to fight in many battles. There are rumours that the Calia may face a fierce battle if they continue to refuse alliance proposals from other kin'toni clans.

Some wonder if the Calia will survive this because of their size. Rumours like this will most likely circulate for some time yet because the value of the Calia tribe themselves is considered among the tribes. It is said that many would-be attackers are most likely reluctant to attack in case they destroy or damage the permanently.

Religion

The vast majority of those amongst the Calia population have no religion—they choose to be agnostic, in other words; however, they do define spirituality as something beyond religion as spirituality connects to their inner minds. The typical Calia has a very interesting theology when it comes to its spirituality: amongst all things about it are three factors, which include mental fortitude, awareness and psyche. These three are known in their native tongue as Vrazdu, Khiu and M'tiu, and they represent what they call their Nrad-Zasad Clotriu.

(otherwise known as Absolute Trinity); furthermore, it's often said that achievement of all three of these factors in equal measure can lead to a Xaasdrod Oa (also known as a Perfect Triad). First, Vrazdu (mental fortitude) requires just enough patience to know when a certain task can or can't be done, with just enough tolerance to know what motivates one to achieve said task as well as how it motivates one to get the task done. Those who excel in this factor often are the most loyal and hard-working, but not necessarily the brightest or most intelligent.

Perhaps legend suggests that such a trait requires only the use of common sense, added with the power of deductive reasoning; for some reason, however, Vrazdu has a special kind of placeholder in retaining common sense, though not earning or learning common sense. This (Awareness) is often considered by many within this clan as the primary building block of common sense, while also serving as the main determinant in the growing and retainment of intelligence, understanding and wisdom.

Those excelling in this often have the opposite result when compared to factor one—the result being, of course, sufficient intelligence and the downside of insufficient common sense. Having Khiu alone doesn't allow common sense to be retained long-term, but short-term it is critical for being able to educate others on the importance of knowledge. In the end, however, those who have enough Khiu but not enough Vrazdu often find it hard to focus without distracting themselves from the task at hand.

Of these three factors, however, the most urgent of all is M'tiu (psyche), which requires a sense of coordination, concentration and communication. Those displaying the right combination of those three abilities often find themselves with proficient M'tiu. M'tiu is, by and large, the one factor that will make or break a Calia. If one doesn't have M'tiu, then one cannot gain or retain Vrazdu or Khiu. Those lacking in this often find themselves as either early on in the maturation stage, immature for their age or suffering memory loss.

In the Calia clan, there have only been three kin'toni to display perfect amounts of the three traits mentioned here, and it is said that when one dies one can meet them in Hyudcra (their version of Heaven) in the afterlife. Those three include the founder of the Calia clan, as well as the last two people he turned in his lifetime.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Calia Kin'toni Clan

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