Laika Kin'toni Clan

History

The Laika clan was the one of many early clans to be formed and there were only 30 members allowed in the clan. Being tortured and almost killed in the city of Zaual-Arae by the zu'aan leaders, the many of the early kin'toni were formed under the most unexpected circumstances who also had very similar features like their light purple irises. After hiding for a short time they rose up to attack the entire population of Zaual-Arae as they couldn’t control their hunger and bloodlust, creating the feedlings (kin'toni made by other kin'toni through their essence).

Without proper governing and leadership, they, along with the other early clans, slowly spread like an infection throughout the entire state of Juare and eventually took over the entire world like a wildfire. Having no memory from their previous lives as they were wiped down by the zu'aan leaders during their lab experiments, the first ones found it really hard to live with proper discipline even among themselves. Thus they started splitting from their companions, going to far off places and well-guarded cities to attack other zu'aan for their blood. In due course, a second generation feedling named Aetius Tullus, made directly by one of the kin'toni founders took matters into his hand.

Even though the next generations needed blood, they were not engulfed by bloodlust like the founders which was a very big feat for the kin'toni. Thus some of the second and third generation kin'toni under the leadership of Aetius decided to make a governing system for them before things went out of their hands. They officially formed the Laika Kintoni clan with 30 members who had the same light purple irises like the founders. They decided to keep the clan tightly closed with 30 members all the time as they identified themselves as the purest kin'toni who attained the same features as some of the early kin'toni, which also meant that they are not born into the clan but selected.

They were proclaimed as the supreme leaders or Elders who were the only ones allowed to give permissions to form a new clan or select a clan leader in tghe kin'toni nation of Yaka-Varat. Slowly they started to be known as the Elders’ clan. Generation after generation they found feedlings with the exact same features and they had to undergo several challenges to be selected as a clan member. Moreover, they had to wait five years after turning to apply for a position in the clan as that is the time period for their diet to stabilize. As years passed zu'aan found it worth a try to become Kin'toni even though most of the kin'toni killed them by draining their blood.

This also increased the Kin'toni population of Yaka-Varat several folds. The rapid growth of Yaka-Varat led to the adaptation of rules to keep everything in check. Consequently forming The Paramount, a set of rules that all kin'toni in nthe Yaka-Varat nation was forced to obey. Even after decades of rule, the system was not free from disputes. From one clan to another there were always questions on their authority. But time had come for them to keep aside their questions and come together. Yet the cold war that tore apart the Xerea Empire had slowly started to creep inside their system.

Biology

The Laika Clan is born to be leaders in every sense. Once infected by the kin'toni essence, they change from normal zu'aan’s to a predator. They stand out from every other clan by their eyes which is a shade of light purple with black sclerae and horizontal rectangular pupils. As they start drinking blood, their body changes to suit that of a predator. They get taller by several feet, most of them being around seven feet tall. But they do not much in shape. So they are one of the most similar ones to the zu'aan. Like all kin'toni, they also acquire elongated and sharp canines to draw blood.

Their skin color varies with each other like normal zu'aan. Even with their daunting eyes, they allure atypical beauty. They grow old yet their physical appearance changes very little. They get grey hair but their skin never wrinkles which is believed to be due to their blood consumption. However, when they die, their body begin to decay rapidly as if to compensate the nutrients used to keep their skin intact all those years. Their major diet is blood and they grow weak the more they starve. New feedlings need blood almost every day that if they are deprived of it, their veins begin to protrude out and the skin around their eyes begin to turn grayish.

It takes around five years to control their hunger and become stable in their diet. As their diet stabilizes they are able to take other food like animal blood and gruel. They can also have blood-root but most of them tend to stay away from blood-root as they find the taste bitter. Once they are selected into the clan, the bond formed between the clan members enhances their senses which is unique for the Laika clan. Their sight and audibility increases two folds. Some of them are masters of perception. The exact science behind this is not yet understood.

Their only weakness is sunlight. The light particles tend to absorb the nutrients from their flesh and make them rot. Even a diminutive amount of light can affect them. This also prohibits them from staying out in day time unless they are completely covered. If affected for a long period of time, the rot tends to spread throughout their body. This can be fatal for them. kin'toni are not able to make their own off springs. They have libido like any other zu'aan but they become infertile from the moment they are turned into kin'toni. So their only means of reproduction is turning the zu'aan through their essence.

If the zu'aan is not completely drained off blood and left to live, then they can turn into a kin'toni, or die if they were otherwise unhealthy. The essence is formed in the liver of the kin'toni which roll up into their mouth while feeding. It contains a toxic venom which can dilate the veins and arteries of the zu'aan thus giving them easy access to blood. It is also kind of a sedative which makes zu'aan to fall into a deep slumber when bitten. It is thus painless. Once they are left to live, the essence mixes with their remaining blood. This makes them hungry for blood and as they acquire more blood their body slowly starts to turn into that of a kin'toni's.

This also extends their life for short time period usually three to five years. The feedlings usually get the traits of their donor. But once in a while, they receive different traits like that of the Laika clan.

Culture

To be a member of the Laika clan is like one of the greatest achievements that a civilized kin'toni can receive. The biggest event in the Laika clan is the Titling of new members. Every time a member steps down from their position (if they die or retire) a new member is selected. The selection is done based on different criteria like their wit or strength based on the open seat. The selection takes place privately in Ignisia, the place where the Laika clan members along with their family reside. If the seat for the advisor is open then the challenges given to the applicants will include tests that check their memory, decision-making etc.

If it is the seat of a warrior then they will be tested on their strength, instinct, reflex etc. Every time a new place is opened, a message is sent to other clans inviting applications. Three applicants are selected and brought to Ignisia for further tests. One of them is selected through a voting system and titled on the Titling day. Moreover, the selection is entirely gender unbiased. Each and every kin'toni from the clans is invited to the Titling. Ignisia hosts the event with colors and feast. The event extends for three days with feast and shows. The new member is given a staff carved with his name on the third day.

After titling, they are known as an Elder and stays in Ignisia for the rest of his/her life (unless they retire). Just like any other kin'toni, another important event is the Coming of Age. According to The Paramount, the donor who gave rise to a new feedling is supposed to take care of him/her for the next five years. Only after five years, they are allowed to make their own decisions and move out. A kin'toni becomes an official civilian on the Coming of Age day. If the prerequisite conditions are applied, they can also apply for the Titling from that day onwards.

The Laika clan sees Aetius as their apotheosis and celebrate every full moon day as a tribute to their founder. They dance under the moon singing and drinking. They only drink animal blood on that day to remember the great leader who brought the idea of civilization to the kin'toni. Even though the first kin'toni were the reason behind their population growth, Aetius is seen as the most important figure among most of the kin'toni. Thus many other clans also celebrate the full moon day as a tribute to Aetius. But it is only in the Laika clan it is obligatory to take part in the celebration.

The Hunt Day is a custom among the civilized kin'toni where they go for hunts (either animal or zu'aan) with their chosen mate and feedlings. This is done to demonstrate their belief in togetherness and unity as a family or clan.

Government

The Laika clan is made of thirty Elders and their family where each of them are given tasks. Chief- The leader is selected through voting by the Elders. He takes the important decisions and is responsible for holding the meetings. Advisors- There are three advisors in the Laika clan, each of them in finance, military and religion. They have their own committee where they discuss matters about the Laika clan and their vassal clans. Ambassadors- There are 6 ambassadors who give information on the other clans and make dealings with them. They also have to find men from their military to serve in Ignisia under the warriors.

Officials- They are the committee members of the Advisors. Each committee has five officials. Warriors Panel- They are five in number and they safeguard Ignisia from attacks. The military men brought from the other clans serve under them. Healers- They are the mates or feedlings of the Elders and take care of the health and well-being of clan. They are also supposed to go to each clan and teach them about herbs and medicines. Always the best of the military men is brought to Ignisia. They hold power wherever they travel and they can also seize anyone who stands against them.

The main legal process used within the Laika clan to settle menial and criminal disputes in Laika clan is known as Mountation, in which the allegedly offending parties has to put their cases in front of the Warrior Panel. Anyone who commits an offense in the Laika clan is seen as one of the biggest felonies. Moreover, any dispute in other clans that was not able to be solved is brought to the warriors of the Laika clan to make the final decisions. In some cases, the advisors are also included, then they hold the final verdict. There is no appeal against the decision made by the panel. The Paramount is seen as the basic legal book to look upon for the nation of Yaka-Varat.

The other clans of Yaka-Varat also have to pay taxes to the Laika clan whether they are vassals or not. Additionally, if there is any marriage between the Elders and other clan members after they become an Elder, then they have to exchange goods and finance to each other the entire time they are an Elder. Any shortcoming in doing so would lead to crimes and is taken directly to the Warriors Panel. If the crimes are great, the Panel can call upon a meeting with the Chief and Advisors. Fundamentally, the Laika clan has the overall authority among the kin'toni. Many of the other clans do not prefer it but they all have to agree to it because of the power they hold.

Other clans are not allowed to oppose to their propositions or proclaims which makes the situation even more unstable. Albeit a fair system to select the Elders, the unquestionable hold they have over the other clans had always aroused concerns.

Military

The Elders had acquired knowledge about the strategies used by the zu'aan cities like the light cavalry and mounted chivalry. The army of the Laika clan had the most talented men from other clans selected by the Ambassadors, who were further trained in Ignisia. The Laika clan was the only one which had the advanced technologies of Iron like the zu'aan cities. Fortification- zu'aan tribes had constantly tried to steal or attack the Laika clan. Even though the groups were small in number, the Elders preferred to avoid clashes with zu'aan. The Elders no more depended solely on taken blood and willing donors had started to approach the kin'toni.

So there was no scarcity for blood. Thus they found it important to maintain some kind of peace even when zu'aan’ were the intruders. This decision made them to build fortification in the form of a castle like the zu'aan cities where they still had monarchy. Inside a castle they were protected from bands of raiders and could send mounted warriors to drive the enemy from the area. Even if the intruders had somehow managed to obtain heavy weapons, it was hard to dominate a battle against the castle. This gave the Elders the upper hand. In some cases, when the intruders refused to be willing blood donors or maintain peace, the Warriors used to lock them up on the dungeons.

Troops- They had different types of soldiers selected by their skills. The most talented ones were the two-handed infantry. They had a sword or axe in each hand. They were used to destroy enemy spears, dismount cavalry etc. The knights were exceptionally skilled as they were trained since childhood. They were used as infantry or were mounted instead and also held a sword or axe. Requiring a keen eye and a muscular body, the archers were basically hunters. They used the bows and small swords like the dagger. The most common type of soldiers were the swordsmen.

They were particularly armed with swords and were trained to handle combat. Most importantly they were taught the discipline needed to follow commands. The militia came in all sorts such as infantry or cavalry. They were generally armed with a spear in combination with a short sword. Somewhat better trained, they were capable of defending against marauding war bands and holding the line when deployed. As the name suggests, the spearmen infantry used spears and were the most numerous soldiers on the battlefield. They wore the most minimal armor and were the front-line being the meat fodder of the armies.

Once they were injured, the healers were employed in the camps to take care of the injured. Even with a big army, the Elders stayed away from war as much as possible. They knew that a cold war was brewing among the kin'toni and they wanted to make sure that they could defend themselves properly when attacked. They were also very far behind the technologies they had in the Third Era and zu'aan cities.

Religion

The kin'toni of Yaka-Varat have 3 religions mainly, Seleniasm, Primism and Aetiusm. Even though the Laika clan do not believe in a particular religion, they do consider Aetius as their holiness. So in a way they follow Aetiusm. Seleniasm is the religion where the kin'toni see the moon as their God. They do rituals and pray to moon. There are priests in some of the clans who believe that they can interact with the moon. They believe that the moon is a woman and they are her children. This also points out that they do not believe in the first kin'toni. Moreover, they completely disregard the fact that zu'aan created the kin'toni.

Primism is the religion when the kin'toni believe that the first kin'toni are their Gods. They believe that the first ones have different powers like telekinesis and elemental manipulation. They also have a belief that someone among the kin'toni are going to receive those powers one day and that person will lead the kin'toni to rule Taerel by wiping out the zu'aan. Primisans tend to attack zu'aan blindly believing that they are supposed to be wiped out from the world. The Laikans follow Aetius but do not see him as a God. Laikans are far more advanced than the rest of the kin'toni and are aware of the things zu'aan did to them.

Even after knowing that the entire kin'toni species was a mistake made by the zu'aan leaders they still hold to belief that this was supposed to happen and there is a reason behind everything. This makes them pantheists, not exactly but broadly. Pantheism is the belief that reality is identical with divinity, or that all-things compose an all-encompassing, immanent god. Pantheist belief does not recognize a distinct personal god but instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Laika Kin'toni Clan

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