Zagezwar Kin'toni Clan

History

The Zagezwar clan has one of the longest standing histories of the kin'toni. They were formed by one of the escapees from the original experiments, Zagez Al’ayan. He escaped with the other original kin'toni, but broke away from the group soon after entering the city. Zagez was much stronger than any zu'aan, but he was noticeably smaller and weaker than the other kin'toni. He travelled as far as he could before stopping to feed. Once he learned that zu'aan can be infected, he started infecting the zu'aan he found that had blue eyes like his own; any that refused to follow him were killed instantly.

However, Zagez never stayed in one place for long, as he feared that the stronger kin'toni would attack and kill them. He never had more than 30 followers at any given time; he did not want more people than he could control or provide for. For 2 decades after the war broke out, Zagez and his followers led a comfortable life. Despite being nomadic, they were always well-fed. Zagez fell in love with one of his followers, Yulu’ma. Their relationship allowed other followers in the group to come forward with their own relationships, which made the small group even more loyal to themselves.

Misfortune struck the clan when they came across a remote city that was seemingly in ruins, but was actually too clean to be abandoned. They knew that most kin'toni of the time were living recklessly, and only the zu'aan were in hiding. Trusting their ability and instincts, the group decided to hunt whoever was inhabiting the area. The city was inhabited by the Vorusk kin'toni. The Vorusk kin'toni were unlike any other kin'toni Zagez had seen – they had white sclerae despite their slitted eyes.

Since zu'aan also have white sclerae, Zagez’s group assumed that the inhabitants of the city were also weak. They decided to attack and win the city for themselves. This was their fatal mistake. The Vorusk were caught by surprise by the attack, but the few warriors they had retaliated fiercely to the threat. Zagez was one of the first few kin'toni to die; his head was torn off of his body by 3 Vorusk warriors. After Zagez’s death, some of his followers fled, leaving only 15 soldiers on either side of the battle. The battle that ensued was madness, until the remaining members of Zagez’s clan decided to retreat.

They took 3 prisoners with them. These five kin'toni were loyal to Zagez beyond his death, however they decided he was wrong to flee. They declared themselves at war with anyone who came in their way and named their clan Zagezwar. After some weeks, they released the prisoners and integrated them with the clan, without any discrimination. The white sclerae were the dominant genes, and the Zagezwar clan went on to have the defining feature that killed their original leader.

Biology

The Zagezwar kin'toni all inherited the blue eyes that Zagez Al’ayan had hand-picked in the zu'aan he had originally infected. They all also inherited the white sclarea that had been misinterpreted as a sign of weakness by Zagez Al’ayan. However, they all had the traditionally horizontal slit irises of the kin'toni. Surprisingly, the men and women of Zagezwar all had similar heights of around 155 to 175 cm. This put them at the shorter range of most kin'toni.

Their nomadic nature resulted in thick, brown skin that was suitable to hot climates. The Zagez maintained their dark green hair as a short fuzz on their scalp. Their feet were big and wide, but their hands were not particularly large. Zagez was known for his resourcefulness and skill, but the Zagezwar clan focused more on the physical strength than the mental ability. Their offspring start training before their body is fully developed and each Zagezwar trains for multiple hours every day.

Due to this, their built is lean muscular, resulting in lithe bodies weighing 50 kg to 70 kg. They moved faster than other normal kin'toni, and they could run for a hundred kilometres before they began to tire. This made it easy for them to hunt. However, some kin'toni used their speed to escape the strict clan. Incredibly proud of their fighting, the Zagezwar employed multiple primitive weapons made from wood, twine and stone. They preferred armed combat over hand-to-hand.

Their obsession with weapons lead to a unique feeding ritual, in which they cut their victims’ necks and let the ‘impure’ blood bleed before drinking from the wound. Due to this, the Zagezwar did not have many inbuilt weapons. Their teeth were sharp, but incredibly short and their fingers were not tipped with strong, sharp nails. Like all kin'toni, the Zagezwar were difficult to kill. Most zu'aan would not stand a chance, unless they had the support of at least 5 armed zu'aan.

The strength of 2 kin'toni was enough to decapitate or kill the Zagezwar, but in most balanced fights, a Zagezwar’s skill and training would be enough to defeat another kin'toni.

Culture

The Zagezwar clan, despite being named after Zagez, held cultural views that were completely polar to his. They refused to be nomadic and still occupied the land that the first few Zagezwar kin'toni escaped to after the war with the Vorusk kin'toni. They valued their land beyond anything and dedicated their life to protecting it. They built building like structures to shelter them for the night, but these structures were communal and were thought to belong to the land rather than the clan.

They were originally built using sticks and mud, but they were developed in the years and were strengthened with logs of wood and stones. One of the buildings was a sweltering workshop which contained the forge and weaponry. Every kin'toni had to make weapons for their clan, and there was only one designated blacksmith. The blacksmith was originally a kin'toni who had lost her leg during training. She convinced the Commander that she was useful as her weapons were better than any other kin'toni.

She oversaw the construction of the workshop and also decided to try and construct a forge. Her efforts improved the technology of the weapons from the stone age to the iron age. When she was murdered by forcing her into her own forge, her murderer was punished by cutting his leg off and forcing him to work as the blacksmith. The honourable role was now a punishment and mockery. All Zugazwar chose a partner after they controlled their bloodlust. This was the test of adulthood for Zugazwar; they had to fast for 3 days and then spend one day in a room with a captured zu'aan.

If the zu'aan was uninjured after 24 hours, the Zugazwar was considered an adult, which took most Zugazwar 13-17 years. The Zugazwars ability to have and maintain partners for life was seen as proof of their stability. They were expected to maintain their partners for life; cheating or abandoning their partners at battle was a capital crime. Only Zugazwar men who lost their partners were allowed to live after losing their partner, but they were no longer considered warriors.

However, due to bad management, these numbers were all over the place and the Zugazwar often did not have enough warriors or caretakers for the offspring.

Government

Each of the Zagezwar was assigned specific roles to fulfil in the society, and most were considered a part of the military. Their clan is run as an Oligarchy, with captains controlling each role required by the clan. There was one commander who existed to maintain peace between the different captains. Any rules or laws were decided by the captains and approved via voting. Most captains chose their successors early, although these successors often changed. The successors could be chosen from anyone in the clan; the system ensured that all offspring were viewed the same and avoided biases.

The successors of the captains were not treated differently, as they often changed. Most captains allowed some kin'toni to work closely with them and chose their successor from that group. This led to fierce rivalries amongst the kin'toni. In some extraordinary cases, the commander would choose the successor of a captain. This happened when a captain died before choosing the successor, when a captain was demoted due to weak performance, or when a captain was demoted and punished for some crime.

Each captain governed and developed a single area of work in the clan. While most members were considered warriors, they were divided amongst several tasks. No matter how much man-force was truly required, most posts had at least one co-captain. This system was implemented by the counsellor to create a system of peerage and accountability. Often, the two captains of one post were partners, as the Zagezwar kin'toni believed in the equality of the partners. An exception was the hunting and recon captains as the separation of partners for long periods of time was viewed as a graver sin.

Since the hunting and recon groups were often outside the safety of the clan, each group had only one captain for smoother functioning. The captain’s partner was always part of their hunting or recon group. The commander ranks above all the captains. The commander follows a life very different to the other Zagezwar. He does not have a partner, as he considers the land to be his life-partner. He does not sleep inside the camp, let alone in one of the buildings.

None of the kin'toni guard the commander as he sleeps; if he is harmed it means his partner refused to guard him over the night and he is banished. He is the only person in the clan who can punish the clan members by death, and he performs the executions himself. This capital punishment is awarded to people who commit grave sins in the eyes of the Zagezwar clan. The way in which they are killed is based on the severity of their crime. Stealing is not a serious crime, as they believe everything belongs to the land.

However, it is considered a violation of loyalty and they are banished from the clan. kin'toni who abandon their partners during any battle are given a swift death. Those that cheat on their partner are given a painful death after an hour of torture. Only one kin'toni was accused of harming his partner, and her was tortured for a year before being killed.

Military

The structure of the Zagezwar clan makes the military indistinguishable from the rest of the clan. Every member is a warrior. Even the young ones in the nursery are considered future warriors, while the parents in the maternity building are considered bringers of new warriors. Even male Zagezwar who lost their partners are considered as caregivers and nurturers of the military. The only person not considered a part of the military is the blacksmith.

Originally, the blacksmith was a truly honourable role. However, the murderer of the first blacksmith was given her disability and position as a punishment, and the title was stripped of all respect. Since the military consists of almost the entire clan, the governance of the clan is also the governance of the military. The entire clan is led by one commander, who is considered to be the partner of the land they reside on. The next level of leadership is the eighteen captains.

Each of the captains has the same amount of power, but they only have authority over their own groups. No matter how much man-force was truly required, most posts had at least one co-captain. This system was implemented by the counsellor to create a system of peerage and accountability. Four captains handled hunting, one for each of the four directions. Hunting is one of two posts that had only one captain for each group. This was to remove any disagreements or miscommunication while in the middle of a mission.

The captain’s partner was always a part of their group. The main role of the group was to hunt in their direction and bring back enough zu'aan to feed the clan. They actively avoided other kin'toni. Two other captains handled their respective groups for recon; these were some of the fiercest warriors as they had the most dangerous role. They sought out other kin'toni to gather information about the outside world. They were the only source of information that the Zagezwar clan had.

Their job was so dangerous that it was common for entire groups to never return, presumably having died on their mission. Two captains handled defence and guarded the clan from external attacks. They assigned guards and built weak fortifications for the clan. They also made emergency plans that assigned roles to each member of the clan in case there was ever an attack. The clan was not attacked often, but their defence was considered the only reason they survived.

Two other captains were in charge of the workshop. They weaponry was always full enough to arm every member. They taught the youngsters how to make weapons and also ensured that the weapons were never taken without permission. Four captains handled training and ensured that each kin'toni trained every day. Two captains undersaw the training of all the youngsters, ensuring that by the time they reached adulthood they were fierce warriors. The two others were in charge of ensuring that the adult kin'toni.

Religion

The Zagezwar clan was founded on the belief that only war could bring peace. The original leaders were tired of the nomadic nature and wanted a place that they could call home. However, they were firm on their belief that violence is a necessity in their lives. As years passed these ideals were passed down the generations and eventually solidified into their religion. Unlike most religions, the Zagezwar did not have a particular entity that they worshipped. Instead, the worshipped the abstract concepts of war and death.

The clan did not have people to spare to play specific roles of priests, the partners of the captains of recon were considered as religious leaders. They were awarded this role to make them equal to their partners. Since their jobs were the most dangerous compared to the rest of the clan, they were considered to be the closest to god. The Zagezwar had no specific religious days, but they celebrated before the recon groups left and after they came back. They also worshipped fervently when the clan was attacked.

Their religious ceremonies depended on the occasion. Anyone who died with honour was celebrated to ease their journey into the afterlife. They were drained of their blood and the blood was fermented to create blood wine. They were then burned and their ashes were mixed with the soil. The Zagezwar believed that this would solidify their relationship with the land they inhabited. They also believed that their ancestors would join the land to protect the clan. Even members that died on missions were brought back to the clan by the survivors to receive their burial.

When the clan or any group was attacked, they celebrated their victory afterwards by drinking blood wine and copulating. The Zagezwar often don’t sleep the entire night, celebrating below the stars until the sun comes out and the next day begins. Before a group leaves the camp, they draw their own blood and collect it in a pot marked for their journey. Before leaving, each member of the group ingests a sip of the blood. This is meant to bind their group by blood and loyalty. If the group does not return, their blood is used to make the blood wine.

However, if a group returns without facing any dangers in their journey, they consider it a curse by their god. After returning, they do not enter the grounds of the clan. They wait outside as their blood pot is brought out and poured into a fire. Then, the group is forced to fight each other until the fire dies or only one member remains. Those that die in this ceremony are not given a proper burial – they are burned with their blood and their ashes are thrown into the nearest river.

Due to this barbaric tradition, some groups that value their lives and that do not face enough danger in their journey choose never to return to their clan.

Miscellany

The Zagezwar clan is not well known to the other kin'toni. Their location is well hidden and they don’t take kindly to the occasional visitors. Even when the hunting and recon groups come across other kin'toni, they do not reveal their own clan, taking the information with themselves to death sometimes. The Zagezwar did not have any monetary system as they did not trade with any other clan or group. They also had no concept of personal belongings.

Anything that they had belonged to the clan as a whole. Only some resources were controlled, such as the weapons, the blood wine and the blood of the zu'aan. These were all controlled by the workshop captains. Since loyalty is so important to the Zagezwar, attempting to steal these resources resulted in banishment from the clan. The Zagezwar clan steadily lost numbers despite being kin'toni. Quite a few of their members were banished, but the biggest strain on their numbers was the recon and hunting missions.

It was too common for these groups to never return. Any member that did not return from these missions was celebrated as a war hero and respected by the tribe, however many chose to abandon the clan during these times. One of the most common reasons for never returning was because the group did not face enough danger in their specified mission time. They knew that if they returned, they would be treated like scum. Their blood would be disrespected and they would have to fight amongst themselves to death or till the fire died.

Another common reason to run away because the clan was incredibly strict. There were very few reasons to celebrate and they were rarely allowed to have fun. Adding to that, the incredibly dangerous recon missions were compulsory and almost every Zagezwar departed on at least one mission in their lifetime. Many members did not appreciate this about the clan. They did not have much information about the outside world, but having lived their entire lives under strict regimes they were willing to take the risk.

However, many of the Zagezwar were contented with their lives. They were brainwashed by the loyalty and ideals of the clan, and they could not even imagine abandoning their clan under any circumstances. This was what kept the loyal members with the clan. It also protected everyone who ran away, because most of the clan was blind to its own flaws.

Now, the clans numbers were declining rapidly – most of the groups that left either never returned or was reduced greatly in number. The clan was dwindling in number and their future was looking bleak.

Nearby Groups

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Zagezwar Kin'toni Clan

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