Estera Kin'toni Clan

Graveyard tribe, exceedingly territorial

History

Originally the occupants of a small town of little or no importance, this tribe upon being stricken by the kin'toni plague were shunned by society and they withdrew to the safety of a nearby cemetery where they made their homes in the catacombs beneath the graves. They would build some larger domiciles for them to dwell in, and with a deep seated lack of trust for the society that had tried to destroy them. They built massive protective stone walls all around the graveyard with giant gargoyle structures designed to terrify any who would look upon their visage.

Before they found the sanctuary of this place many of them were destroyed at the hands of the zu'aan and they were loathe to leave again in their full numbers for quite some time, and preferred to send out hunting parties to gather fresh zu'aan corpses for them to feed off. They developed great architectural minds and gradually they altered the graveyard into a kin'toni town featuring many gothic buildings and ominous statues. Even in day time it is a scary looking place and many soon realised that this was a place to stay away from if you valued your life. They do not normally engage in disagreements or warfare with other clans.

They are politically neutral and merely just want to be left alone and exist in solitude. They have little or no raw materials or items of note so other tribes usually have little or no interest in them. There have been a few occasions when zu'aan warriors have attempted to destroy them by breaking into their grave town. The clan have repelled these invaders or devoured their blood. There was one occasion, a few decades into their existence when a small battalion of warriors attempted to destroy them. Desiring vengeance for a group they believe had been killed by the clan.

There was a fierce battle that lasted many days and destroyed a number of the clan. In the end they were victorious having killed half of the invaders. The other half escaped. The Estera Kin will not leave the graveyard town unless absolutely necessary. Should they have invaders and they are repelled by their number, they will most likely not follow them out of the grave fortress and if they did give chase, it would not be for long before they returned to their sanctuary. Over the years the surrounding forest has grown closer to the graveyard town, making it more and more difficult to locate them.

Even by accident, let alone if you were actually looking for the place. They are happy to let the forest grown around them completely as they do not wish to be found by anyone. Their lineage is of little note and their life before their kin'toni existence was uneventful. They recollect the old days with vague memories, but also they have always loathed their existence as kin'toni. They are a dark tribe who lurk in the shadows, skulking.

Biology

Dark pink irises with black sclerae and crescent pupils Very thin and emaciated looking with grey skin, protruding veins of purple discolouration and dark red rings around their eyes. Very bony physiology. They glide as they walk, slightly bent backs from skulking in the shadows for decades. They are generally slow but can move extremely fast when they need to. They have long pointed razor sharp nails which are grey in colour. When their nails pierce an enemies skin, the properties in their claws will cause an infection immediately which is non threating to other kin'toni.

But causes paralysis in zu'aan, weakening them and making them easier to catch and overpower. They have limited their consumption of zu'aan blood to small amounts. There wish to stay in the inner sanctum of their graveyard town sanctuary is greater then their desire to venture into the outside world. So their bodies have been conditioned over the years to get by on a smaller amount of zu'aan blood. However when they have gone over ten days without blood they become very sick and can risk bodily failure, starvation, weakness and nervous collapse. A spike through the heart will destroy them immediately.

As will decapitation or direct exposure to sunlight. They heal from wounds at medium rate. They can be very fast and agile when they want to. Their blood is white and thick, like oil. When spilled it is like some form of acid and can be destructive towards other compounds including stone, iron and zu'aan flesh Their organs are grey and scaly and have a very rough texture. They have soft skin which is easily pierced. They will regenerate from lacerations in days. They have incredible eye sight and sense of smell. They have very long nails on both their fingers and feet.

When they sleep, they sleep upside down hanging from rafters and other structures where they curl their long toes and nails around them tightly. They are light sleepers and if disturbed will awake immediately. In this state they will often attack before weighing up the situation properly. Their adrenalin is very high at this moment and they feel pain less. This sensation will last a little under a minute and once the immediate shock has passed they can be injured easily, as the outburst of high energy weakens them. They sleep during the hours of daylight and need a full eight hours to regain their energies.

Their voices are rasping and serpent like They have very intense eyes and stare deeply at everything they look at.

Culture

They are lurkers of the dark and tend to hide away from civilisation, both zu'aan and other kin'toni tribes, however if provoked they can be dangerous. They are a dark, brooding and sinister clan and see the world as a very dark place without fairness. Having come from simple backgrounds and a past life of tranquillity and then catapulted into a terrible world as they see it, they have become bitterer and godless, nihilists in nature. They will often sit in dark and shadowy corners saying nothing. They do not bother with communication unless to do with something very important that calls for action or some kind.

In fact they see most communication as unnecessary. They have a Queen, Thrang who is their leader and has been since they were first contaminated with the disease. All follow her leadership without question as she is powerful and extremely intelligent. In their culture they are very happy to have a supreme leader. They also have a serious of powerful underlings who are elected by The Queen. The tribe have no political arguments as they see this as a pointless waste of energy, which could be placed in more productive areas. Over the decades they have developed a love of architecture.

They have no wish to move from the graveyard that they reside in and have used their creativity to build onto it. Transforming it into a gothic small town built around the graveyard. They have constructed giant walls and pride themselves on the massive gargoyle statues they have built around. All the gargoyles have symbolic meanings and represent important things from their tribe. They are also designed to strike fear into any who see them. The idea is to keep everyone else out. They have also built a serious of deathly traps around the compound. That will destroy both kin'toni and zu’aan.

The traps are controlled from mechanical mechanism inside and they guards positioned to see who comes in and out. The town is cleverly constructed with many hiding places so that from the outside you cannot tell if anyone is even inside. They are generally artistic and like to carve all sorts of things. They also make furniture such as chairs and chests. They make weapons which are very ornate with great detail on them. They are a literate tribe and they write a lot of poetry and stories which they read to each other. Their artistic work is very dark and horrific as this is how they see the world.

As far as they are concerned their existence is a curse and the world is awful and so the art and stories that they tell represent this. They respect each clan member and they look up to the stronger and powerful high ranking members of their clan. Each will gladly forfeit their existence for the greater good of the tribe. They enjoy solitude and darkness.

Government

The leader of the tribe is QUEEN THRANG, a wise, but fierce and dark kin'toni with the power to hypnotise and a propensity for violence when roused or provoked. She rules the clan strictly but due to their nature there is very little need or cause for discipline. Their entire system is built on respect for the hierarchy system. THE OFFICIALS are beneath the Queen. These are high ranking and respected officials. Who she has appointed into positions of power to do her bidding and maintain order amongst the tribe. There duties are too mainly make sure everyone is looked after and accounted for.

The numbers of the tribe are counted every day, especially during hunting times when there is movement to and from the compound. Also each tribe member has their own selected dominion to reside in and THE OFFICIALS make sure that everyone is where they should be. The consider themselves to be ‘organisers’ rather then upholders of the law. During war time THE OFFICIALS will gather all the GENERALS and bring them before THE QUEEN where they will receive their orders. The Officials also organise creation ceremonies (where they tell each other stories or gather round together to make gargoyles and other crafts) and various other day to day activities.

Any new and large decisions to be made, THE QUEEN will call forth THE OFFICIALS and they will debate the pro’s and con’s of the various different courses of action they could take. The Queen will listen to the advise of the Officials, who she respects highly, but in the end she will make her own decision. Her word is final and the Officials will implement what she requires without question. The Officials will often liaise with the military when asked to by the Queen, usually in matters of security. On the rare occasion when there is a disagreement between clans members.

The Officials have the power of EXTREME LAW and can do what ever they deem to be the correct course of action to either defuse the situation or capture both the accused. Execution is forbidden to them and in such occasions where an agreement cannot be reached. The accused are brought before The Queen who will interview them and administer what ever punishment she see’s fit. In the case of treason, where a member of tribe were to commit a crime against the tribe or endanger the safety of The Queen, they will be brought before the Queen, where they will be tried and if found guilty, destroyed.

There is hardly ever any crime or power struggles within the clan. As this is not something that generally interests them. Consequently there is no real need for any laws or authorities to uphold laws. It is a peaceful clan and the government is simply and efficiently run, its main concern being the safety and well being of all tribal members, who in turn trust that the officials will make the right decision in all matters of state. Their government and tribe is run on the principles of rightful authority, respect and trust.

Military

They are a purely defensive military. They do their best to not be seen and have built really strong defensive structures around their town so that it is more difficult for any would be invaders to gain access. They hide and lurk in the shadows and so do their best to go un-noticed to the rest of the world, however from time to time war and fighting are unavaoidable, such as raiding clans (which is rare) and zu'aan seeking vengeance from killings the tribe has committed (this also is very rare) but the clan, none the less, in the event of such dangers have created a very smooth running military force.

The entire perimeter all around their town has been rigged with booby traps and weaponry designed to destroy invaders. They have also many long range firing weapons attached to the top of the walls which are manned by their archers in the advent of any attacks. These long range weapons are all around the compound walls and they fill them with militia and typically will fire continuously at enemy. It is their hope that this method alone will deter any invaders and convince them to retreat, rather then continue with any further violence. The clan wish to avoid leaving their compound and engage in further battle if possible.

Battle plans are normally created by THE QUEEN and then delivered directly to THE GENERALS who are summoned to her chambers and then given the plan. During this meeting they may offer opinions and advise but after the battle has begun they are expected to carry out her commands to the letter. Before fighting THE QUEEN is always open to advise and opinions and has been know to alter plans when she has felt that THE GENERALS had solid advise that she may have overlooked. The Generals will position as many warriors on weapon walls as possible and attempt to defeat their enemies this way first, at long range.

In extreme cases when they are facing a stubborn enemy, after the first wave, the Generals will recall half the troupe and they will enter a extreme tactical plan, which will involve sending troupes outside from different doorways, where it will be their tactic to surround the enemy. In this case they will typical fight with longer pole arms. They do not like to get in to close if possible. They have a final wave of warriors who are masters with shorted swords and quite fearless. These are often sent in last to finish off the enemy. They have great martial arts and sword skills and often at this stag.

An enemy that still lingers, have grown tired and theres defences beaten down, rendering it more difficult for themselves to have good defence against a fast and flashy attack from highly skilled swords. This clan do their utmost to avoid conflict.

Religion

They believe they have been cursed and that the world is a terrible and dark place that is cruel and unfair. They hide away from civilisation as much as possible and lurk in the darkness, the only solace being the knowledge that they are all somehow together in this terrible existence, bound by the philosophies of their Queen, who’s mind power and intelligence they trust above all things. They have no priests as they are nihilistic in their religious thinking’s and believe that all the misfortune that has befallen upon them was fated and therefor no organised church of any kind could either alter this or improve their situation.

In some ways they see themselves as priests in their path and it is the job of each tribes member to look out for the other ones, which also includes their mental well being. THE QUEEN will host THE CEREMONY OF CHAOS. In this time the entire clan will gather before her and use a type of mushroom to induce "visions" (not real as it is just the effects of the mushroom). During this state she will recite to them the history’s of their early begins and their descent into kin'toni. Then through the use of her voice, she will guide the entire tribe on a meditative journey.

Where their visions will become even more intense, sometimes so much that they can experience momentarily bodily and mental failure. This ceremony unifies the entire tribe as one and helps them understand their place in the evil world they have found themselves in, accept their destinies and find a balance in themselves, this ceremony also helps in unifying themselves as a tribe. During this time THE QUEEN reaches a deep trance and will often have visions her self. The drinking of zu'aan blood is considered sacred and they have a whole ceremony around it where they give thanks to the hunted and accept that the power is now given to them.

When hunters are selected to leave the graveyard town in search of zu'aan prey, there is a whole ceremony around this and the Queen will hand pick warriors that she deems worthy of the great hunt. Although they need the blood to survive, there is a deep sense of guilt amongst everyone in the tribe and this religious ceremony of the hunt helps them with this. The warriors will continue the hunt outside in this same state of religious brevity. The Queen will hold ceremony before the entire clan on random times and during this occasion she will recite tales of ancient times and offer her wisdom in all matters pertaining to the tribe.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

Unknown

Estera Kin'toni Clan

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