Xfaxa Kin'toni Clan

History

In the year 4E 375, a kin'toni of the name Llyed Tonarr decided to search for another region to live in after over a century-and-a-half of abuse at the hands of a minority of kin'toni in the Falyir Kin'toni Clan clan who bullied him to no end. During this search, he discovered a new land that had not yet been discovered, and this land, commonly referred to presently as the Blaxril Glacier Caves region, quickly became Tonarr's home. He was not alone, however, for several dozen other kin'toni had been searching for him in an attempt to reunite with their lost one, but when they found them, he explained his actions for leaving the Falyir clan.

And they eventually believed him, agreeing to side with him and become part of a new clan, which he named the Xfaxa clan. Over the course of Tonarr's life, he gained both enemies and allies, especially in the way he governed his clan and his diplomatic relations with other clans, up to and including the Falyir clan. He generally appointed designated clan leaders to lead the clan in his absence, which may have led to some problems during the middle and latter stages of his time as leader of the clan. Eventually, he grew tired of not being able to convince his rival clan's governments to see it his way.

But he did not give up as leader of his clan, so he appointed a permanent interim clan leader who would generally assist him in decisions regarding legislative, executive and diplomatic orders, and that turned out to be a permanent precedent of the leadership of the Xfaxa clan. After Tonarr's death, his vice-leader and right-hand kin'toni Xiala Zakuz took over as clan leader, thus giving the clan a very impressive reputation during the height of the War of the Shattering. After the Shattering Zakus suddenly fell ill and, assuming that she wouldn't recover from his illness, declared that her vice-leader would succeed her.

Unfortunately, she proved herself right and ended up in a coma before dying, which gave her successor the power to rule over the clan. Over the next few thousand years, it became evident that the Xfaxa clan had suddenly begun to experience signs of illness in a similar way in which their former leader suffered, and a plague came across the clan as a result. Although it wasn't until 4E 231 for a permanent cure to the sudden mysterious Azleqi'Xaxse virus that claimed the life of former leader Zakur suffered from and succumbed to was found. Over the last one hundred years, the clan's population total dwindled from one thousand, two hundred to less than five hundred and fifty, thanks in part to the Azleqi-case virus.

Although the worst seems to be over, there is something else looming on the horizon...

Psychology

The typical Xfaxa kin'toni has never been one to lay low and not take a chance from time to time, and in the past it has both won the Xfaxa clan battles innumerable to determine, yet that same mindset has led to near-extinction on several different occasions throughout the anthology of the clan's history as a clan. The Xfaxa kin'toni does know when to cut one's losses, however, retreating from a lose-lose situation if the need to preserve one's own life and that of his or her clan are paramount. Needless to say, the Xfaxa kin'toni is a never-say-never kind of being to a degree, but when the time comes to stop, then that time is often heeded.

The Xfaxa kin'toni likes to display his or her unique strengths and that often leads to either something really good or something not as impressive. The Xfaxa clan have no shame in their behavioural patterns, doing anything and everything they can to gain the admiration and respect of other clans; though the attempts can sometimes fall flat at times, especially if one says something instead of saying something else, which is also another problem that the Xfaxa kin'toni has in terms of behaviour, and given that the typical Xfaxa kin'toni is supposedly normal he or she is slightly awkward when it comes to socializing with others.

Psychologically speaking, the Xfaxa kin'toni is not ill in any way, just stubborn and hard-headed; in other words, a typical Xfaxa kin'toni doesn't think of using their head for something besides a hat rack. The Xfaxa kin'toni has a unique way of trying to explain things that they care about. Sometimes an Xfaxa kin'toni will go on and on about a certain topic in an otherwise feeble attempt to relate to one's audience, whomever that audience may be; however, when ordered to get to the truth they don't hesitate to give one's demander the answers that that demander is looking for.

Xfaxa kin'toni is also quite well at working under pressure, often taking a lot of effort in doing something and then giving a lot of effort in return. Xfaxa kin'toni is quite determined to do something, but sometimes they over-determine themselves into thinking that something works a certain way when in fact that same thing works in a different way than was originally believed. They don't have any problems when it comes to thinking for themselves, but when they encounter problems they have trouble trying to point them out, but after a bit of examination of said problem one can figure it out over time

Biology

The Xfaxa are adapted to the sub-zero temperatures, shifting ice, darkness and humidity of the Blaxril Glacier Caves. They are compact and streamlined of build. The center of gravity is love and the core is heavily muscled. This lowers the drag in tunnels and helps keeps them warm. The downside of this is being slow in open spaces. The skin is a translucent white, with a blue tint. It is slick and cold, with an non-freezing biological glycoprotein that coats the skin. The hair has been replaced by an fine, microscopic layer of hydrophobic filaments over the entire body.

These almost clear filaments are coated in the same glycoprotein as the skin. This allows for insulation and a protective layer against ice adhesion. The skin has specialized organs under it that can generate a faint, blue-green biological light. This is used for communication. This is costly on energy reserves, and so is only used in short bursts. Under the skin is an dense gelatinous layer that absorbs and dampens the sounds of their movement. This allows for silent movement on ice. It keeps in heat as well, and so aids in keeping them warm.

The eyes are large, perfectly spherical, and cloudy white in color. These have an thick, non-freezing biological inside the orbital cavity that protects ocular structure from ice crystals and cold damage. These eyes are adapted to see in full darkness but are easy to blind with light. Daylight can lead to long term blindness until the eyes can heal. The visual pigments are are adapted to see light variations deep in the blue/green spectrum. This allows for them to see subtle shapes in the ice and detect hidden water pockets.

The downside of this is being blind to red and yellow light. The ears have been reduced into tiny, dense apertures flush with the skull. The ears have an ridge of tissue and an dense, calcified inner ear structure. This is an adaption to lower damage from immense pressure changes caused by the shifting glacier ice. The nose is flat with only two small close-able nostrils that have an highly evolved internal structure for warming incoming air to body temperature using specialized internal organs.

The teeth are hard, small and very numerous. These teeth are adapted for stripping flesh from frozen bones. The teeth are hard, but fragile and prone to breaking. This leads to a cost on the body in order to regenerate broken or even missing teeth.The claws are adapted to be long, slender, slightly curved and needle sharp. These claws are for gripping onto hard ice. The claws are fragile given their long, slender shape. These makes them poor weapons vs armored targets.

Culture

It comes as no surprise that Xfaxa kin'toni relies on their skills and talents to survive. During the first hundred years of the clan's history groups of Xfaxa Kintonis would regular hold tournaments across the six local sectors of their region, and these tournaments involved sports such as discus throwing, ice-climbing, track and field (referred to in the clan as Acfoaosna) and a form of kin'toni'ati sport referred to as Zagkunl. In the end, the winners weren't the only ones to get the glory, for everyone that participated in these tournaments were recognized by name.

And received medals for their participation. It also comes as no shock to anyone that has studied the Xfaxa clan in their natural habitat that they are also extremely competitive and often enjoy challenges from others within their community, and, that is why every quinquennium (that's a period of five years) the leaders of the Xfaxa clan hold their special event, which they commonly refer to as the Qinlypzawa. Even so, there are no losers in this kind of once-every-quinquennium event, but those that end up winning end up with the most recognition and the rest of the clan's admiration as a general whole.

The typical Xfaxa kin'toni is very competitive and likes to challenge oneself and others into being their best as a cohesive unit, so finding things to work on in the Glacier Caves region is not hard to manage at all. When bored Xfaxa kin'toni will exercise for a given amount of time, going as far as to do jumping jacks and crunches relentlessly for up to an hour at a time until that particular feeling of boredom is gone. Also notable is the Xfaxa kin'toni's slight lack of sleep during the day on account of one's always staying busy, which comes as no surprise considering how important work is for Xfaxa kin'toni.

Both as individuals and as a cohesive, collateral unit. Xfaxa kin'toni also has a strange part about their culture, for when gathering around a campfire in a glacier cave a typical Xfaxa kin'toni feels the desire to tell the stories of their ancestors long time has gone and essentially turn it into a folklore chain, which essentially means that after the original narrator speaks to begin the story one can be appointed to continue said story and add a bit of mythology and exaggeration to the mix if one wants to. Although no records of such kinds of campfire stories from the clan's distant past exist anymore

Government

The Xfaxa clan's leadership strategies have seldom changed or transformed since the original founding of the clan took place some twenty-two thousand years ago; consequently, there is a revised, more modern version of the original governmental structure that was created by the clan's founder, and this structure consists of a clan leader and a vice-leader who are responsible for assembling leaders for and ruling over the six local sectors within the Glacier Caves region, and the length of the tenure of these aforementioned sector leaders may depend on their loyalty to the leader and vice-leader.

As well as their ability to keep the local sectors (and the clan) working together cohesively to continue serving as sector leaders. The Xfaxa clan's version of the Olympics occurs once every five years, and it is overseen and enforced by the six sector leaders that serve the clan leader and vice-leader, and it is during this event that occurs once every quinquennium where the local sector leaders often appoint designated sector leaders to temporarily take their place during the events of the Xfaxa clan's Olympiad while the sector leaders themselves officiate the various sporting events.

Transpiring in their parts of the Glacier Caves region, either as special guest enforcers or sporting officials. In addition to this unique governmental structure, both of the primary leaders—which consist of the clan leader and the vice-leader, mind you—also serve as commanders of the Xfaxa kin'toni clan's military, as well as chief law enforcers of the region. This is a huge responsibility for both leaders, as both are given free rein to make their own decisions regarding whether or not one of their designated local sector leaders has abused his or her power as sector leader if it is proven to be of guilt.

The punishment of the accused sector leader for his or her crimes against the clan. In the event of a vacancy (depending on whether or not the vacancy is for a primary or secondary position within the governmental structure) a special martial arts tournament will be held among the highest-in-power at that time, at which point the winner or winners of this tournament will have the opportunity to fill the vacancy and become a primary or secondary Xfaxa kin'toni clan leader. After the tournament ends, a lame-duck period occurs, lasting for several weeks before the initiation of the leader-elect.

Is set in stone and finalized; it is then that the clan's religious leader, referred to as a Lozaka, will swear in the elected official.

Military

The Xfaxa clan's military, which is enforced and run by the two leaders who are responsible for keeping the clan together and unified as one, is generally referred to by the Xfaxa kin'toni themselves as the Xfozwyrnaqa; thus, the Xfozwyrnaqa is the lifeblood of the Xfaxa clan and consists of about 97 to 98 per cent of the clan's total population. Everyone involved and active in this military will be given much responsibility and respect but to get such things they must first learn how to hunt, which is the clan's primary activity during the night. Those that know how to hunt often.

They don't need to be taught, but they are taught the proper hunting technique that is used by the clan's primary and secondary leaders nonetheless. Anyone that is a member of the Xfaxa clan is automatically eligible to join this clan's military upon the completion of one's being turned into a kin'toni. This essentially means that after one is turned they will be examined by a local from one's local sector (with one of the sector leaders present), the local and the sector leader will wait a few weeks to let the transformation finish before checking on the kin'toni that they examined before.

All will become eligible to join the Xfozwyrnaqa and have a chance to participate in their first hunting activities. The local sectors of the Xfozwyrnaqa sometimes converge in one place to participate willingly in a mission; such missions, however, involve a lot of travel, and when travelling their inability to handle warmer weather can sometimes get the best of them, which may explain why they hardly ever step outside of the Glacier Caves region most of the time. What is also involved in such missions is that some often find the courage to protect their local sector's border from potential invaders.

And when protecting one's border from potential invaders one might inspect the invader upon first sighting it. This is considered standard practice in the Xfozwyrnaqa as many of the kin'toni in this clan willfully agree to protect their region with their lives. As it is like in some kin'toni clans, to get discharged from the Xfozwyrnaqa dishonourably is like getting exiled from the Xfaxa clan, and it is not a good life to live. Sure, you still get to be a part of the Xfaxa clan, but you essentially live your life as a nomad of the region, a recluse, if you will, but only if you are given a dishonourable discharge from the Xfozwyrnaqa.

Most that have been dishonourably discharged from the Xfozwyrnaqa know that they cannot participate. In most of what their clan's government has to offer them; therefore, most kin'toni that have been dishonourably discharged think of it as a permanent barring from the clan. So if you're thinking about doing something treasonous in the Xfozwyrnaqa, then consider that you could end up risking death depending on the severity of the treasonous act.

Religion

In light of being one of the most disciplined and active clans in existence currently, the Xfaxa clan are also very religious. Almost all of them believe in the presence of a being commonly referred to as a Gywarpa, whom they regard as the mascot behind their choice of religion, which they call Gywarpism. And given that the Xfaxa kin'toni believe in the Gywarpa as some sort of an animal god they strongly believe that they were all Gywarpae (plural) in a past life, so it comes as no particular surprise that the Xfaxa kin'toni believes themselves to be the direct descendent of the Gywarpa.

An animal whom one in the clan regards as their clan's god to praise. One of the things that are often overlooked when studying the Xfaxa kin'toni practising and expressing his or her religious beliefs is how one practices and expresses his or her religious beliefs. For example, when a religious Xfaxa kin'toni wants to pray to the Gywarpa, one would then get down on his or her knees, crawl to a wall, and clasp one's own hands together with one's own hands hovering above one's head; then, immediately after this, one would pray to the Gywarpa and speak in their secret language. They say:

"Dear Gywarpa, please be merciful to me tonight as I take blood from you, and forgive me for my sins against nature. In the name of my ancestors." Typically, an Xfaxa kin'toni mass is held once every third week in the typical Xfaxa calendar; however, even though they followed the same calendar that every other clan and tribe followed, they also were responsible for the invention of an exclusive religious calendar known as the Xfa'caraona (or, as it is typically referred to by other clans, the Xfaxa Calendar of Religious Fasting). Every third week the entire Xfaxa kin'toni population would gather together.

In a large cave and travel to its deepest and darkest depths to pay homage to their so-called ancestor, the Gywarpa. Throughout the night songs of praise are sung and a fast is enforced throughout the night. The typical Xfaxa sermon takes place outside the cave after the songs of worship and praise have been done. During the sermon, the Xfaxa clan's minister and religious advisor give his or her beliefs on the transpiration of ancient scripture and the governments understanding of how it happened. The minister to the clan then reads several poems from early Xfaxa history, citing several stanzas.

Which were believed to have been written by the founder of the Xfaxa clan. Once these scriptures are read, a mass prayer is then led by the leader of the Xfaxa clan, normally a sign of the end of fasting; then, as all of the kin'toni return to their local sectors, the fast ends and normality resume as usual.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Xfaxa Kin'toni Clan

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