Kiust Kin'toni Clan

History

This clan initially resided in the dunes near the western hemisphere. They lived very near to a zu’aan community. The community was not particularly large and they were neither the usual bloodthirsty type, rather, they were peaceful. Despite the close proximity of the kin’toni tribe with the zu’aan one, they never attacked them, never bothered them. But the kin’toni did not settle for this peace for long. It was never their intention to build a world in which the zu’aan lived side by side with them. They wanted war and the eradication of all zu’aan. They would never settle for it.

The place where they used to reside, the dunes, had just one water body; a lake. The water of this lake wasn't exactly pure, it was infested with moss and grime and various microorganisms had their permanent habitats in it. The direct consumption of this water did not affect the kin’toni much, but soon after, it became the ground where several insects began to lay their eggs. Their populations multiplied within weeks and with their venomous dungs, wherever they bit them, they passed on their infection making the kin’toni sick.

This gave the kin’toni the idea, the answer, one that would bring the zu’aan on their knees overnight. The clan using this were adamant of revenge. They had many populates and so they did not care much for turning the zu’aan nor on feeding on them. They only wanted the zu’aan to suffer the same fate as they had. Thus, these kin’toni came up with the brilliant strategy to breed mosquitoes; they injected them with their kin’toni blood and in the dead of the night, they set them free in the zu’aan community. It was at a great risk that they carried out their plan and only the swiftest kin’toni were chosen for this purpose.

They had volunteered for this themselves and believed it to be a sacred mission. Over-night, every single zu’aan who got bitten turned into kin’toni. The kin’toni of the Kiust clan had anticipated that after the turning, those zu’aan would have no choice but to join the clan. Things however, did not go according to plan. The turned zu’aan rebelled against the clan and they began to attack them out of pure rage. This situation became so overwhelming that the clan had no choice but to flee. They were forced to seek another territory for themselves as the turned zu’aan would not let them live there anymore.

These kin’toni moved to the Esstin Tropical Island, the closest setting they could find. This was not really a suitable environment for them, especially since the kin’toni were not adapted to it, but this was their only choice. This disaster was brought upon them by themselves. It was their own doing and now they had to suffer. They couldn’t even blame anyone. It took them almost a century to get fully accustomed to the climate. In the initial batch most of these kin’toni died due to extreme fatigue and dehydration.

Biology

The Kiust are adapted to the blisteringly hot, wet Esstin Tropical Island. They are short, compact, lean and wiry of build, their muscles are adapted for quick movement in short bursts, not bulk. Their smooth skin is mottled in shades of dark, rich greens and browns. The skin has a waxy coating, adapted to shed rain water from the skin. This is an adaption to lower maceration damage to the skin from the wet climate of the Esstin Tropical Island. The clan posses long, dark green hair, colored such a way as camouflage.

The hair has a thick waxy coating on each strand as to deal with water. The ears are long, pointed and narrow and able to move with the kin'toni's mood. Their eyes are bright green, with pupils narrowed to a small slit as to lower light exposure from bright equatorial glare. Their eyes have clear nictitating membranes to protect their eyes from dust, bugs and water, while vision remains unimpeded. The sight is adapted to resolve fine detail and color differences, as to help with spotting things in the rainforest.

The teeth are short, small needles for feeding on fish. The canine teeth are able to inject an paralytic neurotoxin, used for catching prey. The clan's claws are curved, tough and non-retractable, adapted for scaling tree trunks and rocky, slippery cliffs. There are sensitive vibrissae-like hairs on the forarms and back. These are used to detect small changes in air currents and nearby movements. The skeletal joints are reinforced to avoid dislocation from hard landings during canopy movement.

The skeletal structure has more cartilage then normal to allow for greater agility and climbing ability in the forest canopy. This also has the downside of bones that are flexible, but fragile with poor healing and less ability to withstand long term wear and tear. Their palms and soles have specialized pores that exude an slightly adhesive "glue" that aids with grip on smooth, wet surfaces.

Their feet have retractable, friction-increasing lamellae, to give them better grip on wet, mossy surfaces. The downsides of these climbing adaptions is that the clan struggle to move on flat ground. The blood of the clan's members contains occurring anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agents as to deal with this threat. Their digestive tract is adapted to be resistant to parasites and internal biological contaminants that are common in tropical prey. They have internal reservoirs for recycled hemoglobin to help them sustain physical activity for longer periods between blood meals.

Their bodies have specialized subcutaneous sacs, that can store water and electrolytes., This is to help deal with the risk of dehydration in the tropical heat. Their basal metabolic rate is significantly lower, compared to other clans to conserve energy in the constant eat and humidity. They are able to enter a state of torpor during prolonged periods of sunlight, such as in the summer. While they are in torpor, their cellular functions are much slowed. The cells of the clan are chemically inert to the effects ambient salt concentrations.

This allows them to coastal mangrove swamps, beaches and other high salt places.

Culture

This clan lives isolated from most of the world on an isolated land. They value their morals and traditions greatly. This is what differentiates them from the rest of the clans. It is very necessary for them to preserve their identity. This clan has about 8 gods, they have one temple for each of these. These tombs aren't very grand but are made with love and respect with whatever they have. Each tomb has four pillars made out of wood and the roof is made of leaves obtained from palm or coconut trees. Each god is carved on rocks of about 3 feet, in their celestial and material form known to man.

For gods whose intricate existential form is unknown, they simply have their names carved upon those statues. These kin’toni wear wooden sandals, carved from coconut shells and leaves with buckles and straps of wood. These sandals are their unique feature and they are able to protect their feet from the hot scorching sands. They do have padded feet but at times the desert floor is too hot for them to walk bare feet, thus they use these sandals. They use coconut seeds as pitchers for drink and large thick leaves as plates which are turned up on the sides, to prevent leakage.

The men of this clan wear tunic loose fitted tops and straight cut trousers made of animal skins, trimmed and rid of hair. This clan raises livestock and other animals such as camels which are used for travelling for long distances. They make their huts from mostly straw and grasses, using larger leaves for roofs. These huts are thick walled and big enough for about three kin’toni, one can easily stand inside without banging their heads as they are made with great care. They can withstand most storms and winds. Since kin’toni of this clan setting spend most of their time inside their homes, they are equipped with everything.

These huts do not have windows to prevent sand from getting inside, just one door which is firmly shut during the day. The spaces between the leaves and straw allow little amount of light to enter. Some kin’toni prefer to make a tiny hole in their so as to be able to peak and be aware of their surroundings. Most animals are also kept indoors during the day, only once in a while are, they allowed to roam the vicinity, graze their lands and take a breath, since the kin’toni can’t follow them in the sun. At night it is too cold for the animals to be left out.

These kin’toni wear cactus talismans, lined with spikes around their necks. This is an indication of their settlement and can also be made into an excellent weapon. They mostly keep to their territory, that is around the oasis. They only leave for long voyages, yet the entire clan never packs up and leaves at once, they take turns. About 5 kin’toni at a time. While the ones left behind look after the animals and the rest of the property. They don’t have many festivals but the ones that they do have are kept short. One festival is celebrated when it rains. On this day, the clouds burst open to shower the kin’toni with loads of rain.

This keeps the oasis water full and the kin’toni get to be thankful to their gods for blessing them with this. They all come out from their huts and enjoy it to the fullest. The other festival is celebrated on the night of the red moon. On this night, the kin’toni pray to their gods for forgiveness and present zu’aan blood as offerings.

Government

This clan has no specific leader, it is sort of a joint effort where kin’toni help each other out. The clan is a small one of only about 50 kin’toni total, as most of them died when the savage zu’aan invaded and these were the only ones who were able to escape. The kin’toni of this clan might have a small population but they have 3 rulers for every sector; food reserve, agriculture and livestock farming and weaponry. The one who looks after the agriculture sector is a kin’toni called as Awasa. He is responsible for overseeing the Alfalfa crops, which are small hay grains.

They grow these grains for their livestock as they don’t eat vegetables, just meat. Awasa makes sure that the crop supply grows properly even in this climate and the animals have enough to eat properly and stay healthy. He also makes sure that the animals are kept well-fed and are comfortable with both, the day and night temperatures, in their huts. He is also the one who cuts, skins and drains these animals for meals and blood. The next kin’toni is Maya who looks after the food reserves. During the summers, when the heat is at the highest blistering points, Maya has the job to make sure the food doesn’t spoil.

She does this by drying meat in the sun and then preserving it for later use. Also, in case there is a shortage of food, Maya keeps some animals apart as a part of fresh food and blood reserve. The next kin’toni is Arana who takes care of the weaponry sector. He is responsible for using the stone cores and flakes to create weaponry. The options for Arana to expand his weaponry are extremely limited and he doesn’t have much to work with. Still, they use tree barks and give it a sharp edge. They also sharpen stone which can then be used as a rough knife.

The clan is a poor clan as they don’t have much resources to use in the desert. They can’t produce much and just live with the things they do have. This means that for their needs, they would have to go seek aid from the other clans. This requires them to take a voyage to these foreign lands, to get their supplies. They also make these voyages to bring more animals and zu’aan blood to their tribe. The delegation of these voyagers is made up of only 5 kin’toni. They are of the 11 best kin’toni the clan has to offer, apart from their leaders. These kin’toni are good with traps, great in combat and excellent for scheming. They make this voyage every once in two months.

The bottom of their oasis is lined with gleaming pebbles. These pebbles are blue and red in colour and give the appearance of frozen flames. The pebbles are extremely rare and the kin’toni seem to have an unlimited supply of them. They use these to barter from the other clans on their voyages and bring back many supplies for their clan with just one pebble. This helps them provide for the seeds to grow hay for their animals, clothes, better weaponry and other things that they are unable to produce themselves.

Military

The military of the Kiust clan is not much. Especially since they don’t have a much large population or government. They just have a tall fence made of wooden logs which was tied together by ropes and now forms a protective circle around the clan. The oasis is in the middle of this circle and the rest of the clan is situated around it. This circle has two doors and two guards are situated at each of these. These kin’toni are the vulnerable ones. They only have the shelter of the few trees from the scorching daylight and if some zu’aan decide to invade in the day, the kin’toni would be trapped in their own protective circle.

To prevent this their leaders thought it best to situate guards outside and also to make sure they patrol the area on their camels. If some approaching army was spotted, then they would have to escape via their tunnel. But that was only taken as a last resort as the tunnel is so small, one has to crawl on their bellies to get across. This is also time consuming. The military consists of 100 kin’toni. They make up to be over half the clan’s population. They are the ones who train in the shade of the trees in the fear of the scorching sun and then in the cold of the night. These kin’toni are relentless and this life of constant struggle has made them enduring.

They have learned to train with any weapon, be it a rock or a proper sword. Their training also includes heaving a sheep on their backs and running across the sand, barefoot. This training makes the tuff but the hot sand leaves blisters on their feet. These scars and blisters are seen as a sign of struggle and determination. The kin’toni of this clan appreciate scars and admire the one who has suffered the most but is still standing. They believe that scars are gifts from their gods which showcase their resilience.

The voyagers are also from the military sector. They are trained far more heavily than the others are. This is to make them be able to take on anything thrown at them by the world outside. The military for the Kiust isn’t just about physical strength but mental too. They believe that a kin’toni should be able to think their way out of a problem. That no challenge should stop their progress or come in the way of it. That the kin’toni should be strong enough to remove it if it does stumble across in their way. They have also been taught of the zu’aan and their strengths and weaknesses.

Apart from all this, even though the clan has a limited supply of weaponry, they make sure to invest in the ones that can be reused. This means that they work with swords and axes mostly. Bows and arrows are kept as a last resort and would only be used in case of a large invading army. Up till now, the zu’aan don’t know that this clan live in this territory and haven’t come to invade it yet. The kin’toni intend to keep it that way and make sure to dress their voyager kin’toni like the other kin’toni so that the zu’aan won’t get suspicious.

Religion

This clan does not bow before just one god rather they have many, each for its own purpose and specialty. Their first god is Numara, the goddess of the underworld. She signifies death and resurrection. According to one legend she was the sister of the god of life, but he abandoned her, his only family, for a woman he loved. Thus, his sister turned on him, became his worst enemy. This goddess of the underworld is feared greatly by the kin’toni. It is believed that any ill treatment requires payment in the afterlife and Numara isn't much merciful, as she still burns with rage.

The second god Pi’saan is associated with war and hunting. He was also the embodiment of the divine kingship. According to a myth, he was the god who had painted himself in blood of all the innocent kills he made people commit. He was also known as the deceiver god. He tricked people convinced them to do nasty things, offered them protection and then backed off. It is said that he murdered his own father including all his brothers, so no one could claim his throne. Cranius is known as the god of chaos, violence, deserts, and storms. He is the only god which assumes no material form.

He is known to take form of destruction, however big or small. This is the god of malice, who brings about loss and harm. Nylan the chief god of light. He is known to master all others and keep them in check, it is true that where is light there is also darkness, thus this god keeps a balance among them. Thesian, the god of knowledge and wisdom, the literary god. It is assumed that the phrase “wit beyond measure is a man’s greatest treasure” was initially quoted by Thesian. It is a myth that at the beginning of time, he distributed his knowledge, wisdom and intelligence amongst men and told them to use their knowledge wisely.

It is believed that this world has hidden treasures, which can’t assume form, amongst it. It is up to the believers to find it as it is the way of true happiness. The kin’toni argue much on this as they all have their own opinions on it and a certain answer hasn’t been agreed upon yet. He was also believed to have invented language and served as a scribe and an adviser for the gods. Then there’s Parvannah, the god of the wind and lightning and thunder. Initially it was assumed that the god of the winds would only affect sailors but it was soon proved wrong.

Wind has the power to greatly influence the weather and climate, in deserts it can lead to temporary blindness as sand particles are irritants. Furthermore, lightning and thunder is Parvannah’s way of showing her might. Ja’tek the god of all living things, is known as the creator of all things. He holds a very high position and perception and is very well respected among the other gods. This is the god of small things. The kin’toni ask this god to fulfill their wishes, to look out for them, to help them and to guide them. It is believed that he created every individual with his own gift, his own talent and it is up to them to find it now, to unleash it and to use it for their benefit.

Miscellany

The kin’toni of the Kiust clan were severely disappointed due to their miscalculation in the otherwise brilliant idea that did turn the zu’aan into kin’toni, but made them rebel and go savage with rage too. So savage that they turned on these kin’toni and waged war on them. They destroyed their clan and took over that place, leaving the survivors to run for their lives. Now, this clan lives in this scorching desert which is probably the most unsuitable place for a kin’toni, but since they didn’t have anywhere to go, they had to stay here.

Years of hardwork and a life which demanded struggle to live have made the kin’toni regretful of their mistake. They have vowed to make amends. They want to start with destroying the clan that destroyed them, and then take over their rightful land again. Because the zu’aan are so unpredictable, the kin’toni hate their whole species and not just the ones that brought them so much pain and anguish. They have worked this hard and kept living instead of giving up and dying, just because they wanted revenge. They look to their gods for this.

They believe that all these gods provide them with strength to continue and that these gods would help them bring their enemies to their knees. They praise these gods and bring them offerings from their voyages, offer them the best of their produce. They pray to them and ask them to grant them a better home and life. That they would get strong enough to take the revenge they have been living for, for all these decades. They built many defenses for these purposes. One of them is a tunnel which is small but usable. They use sand to hide its metal grate from sight and for someone who doesn’t know where to look, they never will find it.

The tunnel is nothing more than a long tube in the dark, through which these kin’toni have to crawl on their undersides to cross. They have kept their location and oasis a secret from other kin’toni clans even, afraid word might spread out. The ones they trade with on their voyages only know that these kin’toni come from far away lands but not much else. The animals of the desert are not many, but are small and mostly poisonous. These include scorpions, side winder snakes etc. The kin’toni have to watch out for these animals and especially keep their animals protected from them.

They always have a weapon on hand to deal with them. If a snake or a scorpion crawls inside their huts during daytime, these kin’toni, using their heighted senses detect their presence, and then finish them off with the knives. Other animals found in the desert are small foxes, coyotes and lizards. The kin’toni might hunt them too, for their military exercises or just for the sake of a little change of menu. The skins of these animals are then used to decorate their huts.

Nearby Groups

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Kiust Kin'toni Clan

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