Kal'et Kin'toni Clan

History

During the Shattering one of the largest populations of kin’toni took it upon them to rid the world of zu’aan. It wasn't just blood and bones or some instinct that drove them; it was their hate. For the lives each and every one of them had lost, for their family, for the people they were forced to leave behind. They attacked a large zu’aan settlement and were successful in turning most of the zu’aan until some of them opened fire, their arrows raining down on them, each successfully aiming for the kin’toni’s hearts. This was neither anticipated nor were the kin’toni prepared for this and thus, they had to flee.

The entirety of the clan consisted of about 1000 kin’toni. On foot and moving they were most vulnerable and now that they knew that the zu’aan had prepared themselves and wouldn't stop short of killing them, they had to take quick action. At that time, this community of kin’toni had nothing, not even a land to live on. The first action was to unite and make a clan of their own. Each kin’toni vowed themselves and offered their lives to this clan. The only purpose driving them being to bring the same fate upon the zu’aan that they had brought upon these kin’toni. They decided to settle in the plains.

The largest area of barren land they could find. It was all they had, their only choice. They had to settle and get a building. With the blood and strife of each and every kin’toni they assembled and stood their empire, an empire of their own making. They made this barren land habitable; they are by far one of the most developed clans. The most advanced and they have proper systems and order in every aspect. Their leader, Ra’main is known to be the best thing that happened to this clan. Under his rule the clan saw its golden age, the age of development, but that was until the clan faced a serious loss due to drought.

There was no production from the crop, most animals died and the kin’toni suffered greatly. Ra’main had to plan a voyage to another kin’toni clan far away to seek help. The leader of that clan was once an acquaintance of Ra’main and he was sure they would assist them, after all, they were also the same as them. They all have the same purpose driving them, directly or indirectly. Ra’main was all set for the trip, a delegation of 15 kin’toni were to go along with him, 5 of his personal guards and 10 farmers and kin’toni of various departments. Midway in his trip, they faced a zu’aan attack. They were outnumbered by atleast a hundred, and none of the kin’toni survived.

The next leader was a very compassionate one but not so fortunate. He was brutally murdered in the dead of the night in his own chambers, it is said that he had rivalry with someone within the clan. After that the position of the leader was known to be cursed, none survived more than a year. This was until Maia Louisa, a woman of immaculate courage and determination, who heroically took it upon herself to make success a fate for this clan. Under her rule this clan gained its reputation and all allies. Now, this is a clan that the zu’aan fear, not just because of their number but their resolve.

Biology

The Kal'et Kin'toni Clan are adapted for the hot, wet Peraw Swampy Rainforest. They are slender, muscular, and lightweight, as they are changed to aid high-speed, agile locomotion via leaping though the trees. The muscles of their legs are strong for propulsion and the core and arms for stability and landing. Their light weight comes with the downside of more fragile bones, (less dense bones), low blood pressure and low energy stores. The skin is colored in deep emerald greens and pale yellow greens as camouflage in the wet foliage of the rainforest canopy.

Their dermal layers are adapted to be highly resistant to fungal and bacterial infections, and has a waxy layer for shedding water. Their eyes are bright yellow in color, and with highly mobile retinas, able to adjust quickly to sudden, drastic light changes between the bright canopy and the dark floor. Their ears are large, long, wide and pointed, with pinnae that are adapted for highly directional hearing. This allows them to find the muffled sounds of prey movement in the sound-absorbing foliage.

Their noses are adapted with a modified nasal membrane, to act as an natural dehumidifier. This allows their breathing to remain functioning regardless of the extreme humidity of the environment. Their vocal cords are adapted to produce screams and other high pitched noises. This is for communication in the dense upper canopy, the downside of this is being unable to speak common languages. They have highly amplified thermoreception pits on their faces to be able to find the warm blood of prey, even in the humid air of the night.

The clan use a venom produce in a gland in the throat to lock up the muscles of prey, injected though poisonous quills shot from the hands using muscle contractions. The clan posses elongated, powerful tails with dense cartilage and muscle for balance and acting as a third limb and a brace during rapid arboreal movement. The fingers and toes are long, strong and broad, ridged friction pads and small, curved climbing hooks on the palms and undersides with curved claws for gripping often wet and slippery bark and vines.

Their adaptions to the branches means on the ground, they are slow and awkward. Their muscles and mitochondrial activity is geared toward instant energy bursts. This means they have explosive leaping power, needed to jump between trees, but they struggle at endurance, such as long distance movement. Their digestive tract has specialized organ for dealing with the venoms and alkaloids that they eat from the often toxic prey of the rainforest. They have very resilient blood vessels that can constrict instantly and seal completely.

This is an adaption for dealing with the deep wounds often inflicted by large prey or predators from the forest or when they need to shed their limbs to escape. The clan have the ability of rapid limb shedding, able to tear off trapped limbs via contracting the blood vessels, detaching the joint and then inducing rapid tissue liquidation to detach the limb. After the limb is detached, the body begins to regenerate it.

Culture

This clan stands where it does today all because of its leadership, without their leaders they would have been nowhere. All the leaders that the clan has had are well-respected, buried in proper marble temples. All side by side. The kin’toni of this clan begin their day by visiting these temples and paying their respects to these great commanders, who caused them to prosper. They have their own moon dial that is carved into the central ground. It uses reflection of the moon to tell what time of the day it is. This clan has inverted their schedules.

Their night is their day during which they carry out their daytime activities or they would be called as daytime activities if they were immune to the sun. They sleep during the day. These kin’toni are expert workers and can make impressive structures out of stone and marble. They have their barracks region which is an extremely massive shelter, now made out of stones and marble. The kin’toni carvers and builders worked themselves to death in order to make this shelter. The population of this clan was far too vast and with no roof, they would not last a day.

Most kin’toni during the construction of these barracks were sent to live with the ally clans for the time being, they only came back during the night to carry out their respective jobs. At night these people work by candles and firelight. This clan uses carved stones as currency and is the only clan that practices trade and has proper bazaars. They have one grand bazaar that is set up at midnight on the one day off in a kin’tonian week for all kin’toni. There are all kinds of exotics available here. The territory under their possession is so vast that they have further divided the lands into 5 provinces.

Each province or sector has been allotted their own department. These provinces are inhabited with the respective workers of these departments. The grand bazaar is located at the exact center of the kin’toni lands so that each province has access to it. It is probably the only place in the Kal’et clan region which unites all provinces in one place. The barracks are the housing; 3 shelters with a capacity of 400 kin’toni each. The leaders have their own quarters, which are made of wood. With marble walls and a wooden throne. The leaders wear crowns made of molded silver with a stone of their choice.

When a leader is killed, these crowns are buried along with them. The ruler’s quarters are made to show strength and might of the clan. It has a proper minaret, unbreakable glass doors and very high windows. Each ruler resides in the same quarters with modifications of their choice. The Kal’et kin’toni clan wear brilliant red clothing, with extraordinarily intricate beadwork and for men, long, ochre-dyed hair is the trend. The beadwork in particular contains much meaning as it symbolizes the heart and soul of their culture. They are a properly civilized clan and eat their food cooked, with spices and flavours added.

The Kal'et have various festivals which celebrate their diversity and culture and portrays it all through their vibrant dressing and their famous grand bazaar

Government

The leader of this clan rules over all districts and the leaders of all districts report to him. The supreme leader conducts strolls every month and visits each province to oversee the progress. He is the supreme authority but each district or province is made independent. There are five sectors/provinces and each has its own leader. The leader possesses all the troops, these troops are posted in each and every province with the intention to maintain order and make sure each citizen abides by laws. Each province has its own supreme rules and regulations but this does not vary from province to province greatly.

This is the only clan with class differences, there is the elite; these are more often the planners, the ones who make decisions. This class includes rich merchants, executives and the leader’s advisory kin’toni. The next class is of the kin’toni who hunt. Amongst that there are further two divisions; the royal hunters and other huntsmen. The royal hunters are the most skilled ones and are only for the job of hunting for the leaders. Sometimes for sport, the leader goes out with them and hunts his own food. There are skilled warriors other than the troops owned by the clan.

Their only job is defense, attack and strategizing on tactics and weaponry. The reports of the progress of all sectors is reported to the leader by the end of the night. There are artisans of all sorts who work with metal, wood, fabric, dyes etc. This group usually consists of the poor who work the hardest. This class division was unavoidable due to the massive population of this clan. The professions and the kin’toni occupying them are based on their previous skills and talent. They work the hardest to earn more stone currency so that they could use them for buying necessary items.

The leader has two advisors whose job is to narrate a formal report of concerning matters. This report generally includes the training of warriors and ties with other ally clan and also the conditions and welfare of the provinces. This clan has recruited the maximum number of allies with fellow kin’toni clans. They mostly clans trade with the Kal’et kin’toni clan for fabrics and some other commodities. The weaponry is bought from the Kelwori clan, who are the best craftsmen in this business. After the first attack on their leader Ra’main, the zu’aan have never dared to ambush this clan.

No number of zu’aan are a match for this particular clan with or without its allies. This clan follows strict protocol when it comes to their leader. On any sign of distress, the leader is ushered to the underground for protection with several escorts. If the leader suffers any sort of harm in the presence of his guards and escorts, they are beheaded upon failure to protect the supreme authority. The troops or the leader’s personal escorts are not allowed to associate with commoners, they cannot relate any inside news or information to any one, and if they do, this is a crime punishable by banishment from the clan.

This is equal to death as banished kin’toni are not accepted by any other clan and survival becomes extremely difficult. Theft is punished by cutting off fingers or if the crime is big enough, then cutting off hands. This ensures that the individual can never involve in such an act again, in addition to that, they can never work again and have to live at mercy of others.

Military

The Kal’et kin’toni clan is a large one, divided into sectors/provinces to be ruled over more effectively. Each has its own leaders, its own special product and also their defense kin’toni. The army of the Kal’et however, is one collective force. The army consists of 500 soldiers out of which 15 belong to the supreme leader’s quarters and are required to remain at the leader’s side at all times. Out of these 15, 5 are the leaders personal escorts and the rest guard the grand residence. All these soldiers receive tough training and only the best out of these trained kin’toni, graduate to the prime position of the provincial leaders’ or the supreme leader’s personal guards.

The area of the Kal’et is a vast one and requires security to be tight at all times. A hundred soldiers are allocated at the borders of the open land. Anyone entering or leaving is thoroughly checked and identified before they are granted entrance. This clan does not have many archers, there are just 10 of them, but those are highly skilled. They have been known to practice until they never got their aim wrong and now their arrows arc through the air to pierce their victim’s hearts. All other soldiers fight from ground level. They are skilled with swords and spears and fight extremely well.

The only watchtowers are present at entrances and exits of the clan. These entrances are also guarded with traps and thorned vines. These traps also provide the first defense against invasion if there is an attack in the broad daylight. Dying in battleground is considered a great nobility. It is considered as a major sacrifice for the leader and the deceased’s family is given special facilities and they are considered as the direct responsibility of the leader. The leader does take care of them then. The army has its own quarters directly behind the supreme leader’s residence. This is a large ground and the whole military is trained there.

It was built and designed by the best architects of the clan and is built to endure all kinds of weather conditions. The ground combat troops consist of swordsmen, knife experts, spears and blinders (they use some sort of powder, which blinds the opponent’s eyes temporarily). The kin’toni are trained to use these blinders by the experts and even some experts from the other clans are invited to teach them. Their relations with the other clans are great, especially with the weapon making clan called the Kelwori kin’toni clan. This is a clan that specializes in weapon making and wielding.

The Kal’et clan imports these weapons from them. There is also a hunting delegation in the military. They are responsible for hunting food for the whole clan. They are only allowed to hunt in the vicinity and not wander far from there. This group consists of a hundred kin’toni and ten of these are zu’aan hunters. They bring zu’aan blood for their leader’s meals. All others are animal hunters who hunt deer, birds, raccoons, bears etc.

Religion

These kin’toni worship the god of the skies. The year they settled upon this land; it was completely barren. There was no hope that this land, even after irrigation, would be of any use to the kin’toni as they needed to raise livestock and grow certain plantations. After two months of despair when they almost lost hope and were pondering upon relocating, it began to rain. The huge dark grey clouds obscured the sky completely from view, there was no day for at least a month and it rained and rained. At that time these kin’toni had no water supply either, they had wanted to build a well but it was too time taking and soon their animals would have died and so would the kin’toni.

The land they chose as habitat had not seen rain in decades, and this rainfall was seen as a miracle. They stored as much water as they could. Their lands were lush green now and there was a new hope blooming. Only, the rain didn't stop, it kept on raining until the land was damp and muddy with stored water lakes, and only then did it stop. The kin’toni were in even further despair. The water was useful, the rain had softened the land, a well could easily be dug up now and there was so much water that it would last them for over a year. After 2 weeks of endless digging, they finally built their well and stored all the water that they had and waited for the land to dry up.

They were anxious that the rain would have caused waterlogging and washed away all the minerals. Then, it was as if their prayers were heard; as much as it had rained that year, they received the same amount of sunlight. So much that all their crops flourished and thrived and the land was fit for use before long. These kin’toni soon began to realize the purpose of every hardship they had faced. They said that it proved essential as it gave them the most important resource and sunlight, which made their crops flourish. They soon began to preach to the god of the skies, the one that controls the winds and weather and changes them as he wills.

He who is unpredictable but merciful, they believed he had heard their prayers and to helped them in the process, granted them what they needed at that time. He cannot be seen, the kin’toni do not usually worship unseen entities but this particular clan has had proof enough to have ultimate faith in their god. They have a temple whose walls are carved with inscriptions of the sun and moon. It is roofless so that all their prayers could easily be accepted and heard by the skies above. Despite them considering the god of the skies as their benefactor, many of the kin’toni also look towards their leader for guidance in most matters.

On the death anniversary of every leader, the entire clan visits their tombs and lights hundreds of candles as a remembrance and to show their gratitude for all these kin’toni had done for the clan.

Miscellany

Each province is allotted their job and land for their own purposes. Each province/sector has its own specialty and works according to it. There is a separate province where weaponry and armor are made. They have their own wood plantation and an iron field that was dug up. This helps them in obtaining the materials required for making weapons. The basic produce includes knives (all sizes and variations; hunting knives, killing knives, ones lined with poison). There are swords and shields, metal armors to cover up body during combat, this too varies in quality and metal used. There are whips, spears and lances.

The next province is of the agricultural sector. They have the fertile lands to grow cotton produce and maize. They have an area for raising livestock. This sector produces the clothing for the clan, which it even exports to its allies The next are the are builders and carvers. These kin’toni are skilled architects and have used their skills to build magnificent structures. It was from their design the great bazaar was built. Its strategy is perfect as it is in the middle of the clan and links all provinces to one another. Then there is the textile sector. Though they use cotton as cloth, the produce is properly spun and is made into a variety of clothing such as capes and gowns and shirts and veils.

Most fabrics’ designs are hand painted; you can place an order for a specific pattern or design, or any design or cut of the dress you want. And can pick them up at the bazaar the next time. These kin’toni weave carpets and rugs and specialize in exquisite embroidery. The leaders of this clan are treated with the utmost respect. The position of their guards is a special one which lets the kin’toni be treated with utmost respect by the others. The guards are entrusted with the lives of these leaders and are required to go with them on each mission. The life of the leader is a valuable one, one the guard force has vowed to protect.

If any harm comes to the leader, it means that the guard failed in their holy mission and are beheaded for it. Also, the clan is built on a plain and so is vulnerable from all sides. If an invasion is to occur, and all their defenses fail, then the supreme leader and all the leaders under him are to be taken to a safe place via a tunnel. This tunnel connects to all provinces from the underground. These passages were made by the first kin’toni to ensure that supplies for war are handed out quickly to the attacked area. These tunnels can also be used to safely lead the other common kin’toni out in case of an invasion.

Though, the first priority is usually the leaders and if there is time, only then will this privilege be expanded to the common kin’toni. This clan consists of kin’toni who value their artistic culture and have figured out ways to sell their products to get more resources.

Nearby Groups

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Kal'et Kin'toni Clan

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