Par Anartah Kin'toni Clan

History

The Par Anartah are the provincial overlords of the Iturn Dead Swamp, which is perhaps the most important if not one of the most important commercial centres in the Ashat nation. The waterway and land trade tolls that the Par Anartah exact on passing trade has been the primary reason why the clan has amassed enough wealth to even rival the power of the Pioneer clans’ council. Although they were not always the most powerful, in fact in the recent past, many clans were said to have written off the Par Anartah.

As they had been throughly weakened and their holdings seized, of all the lands they had laid claim to, they were reduced to barely a third of it. The Par Anartah revived with a fury and are now perhaps at the most powerful position in all their history. To begin with the history of the Par Anartah clan, it is well to begin with the founders, the founding of the clan is ascribed to a trio of kin'toni that had been charged with leading an attack on the way stations that existed within the swamps.

These way stations had become important points of attack for the kin'toni as the zu'aan were resupplying their troops through the use of the rivers, and the swamps were the most vulnerable point in the whole of the rivers course. The kin'toni that had been selected were newly converted and had not yet been allowed to join the initiations for any of the clans that had given them blood for the conversion. However given their experience of warfare in their zu'aan lives, they were still allowed to govern a small troop of kin'toni whose objective was to neutralise the way stations and occupy them to hamper any attempts of resupply of the zu'aan armies.

The way stations were obviously very poorly manned, the zu'aan had never assumed that the kin'toni would brave the difficult terrain of the swamp to assail at what had seemed to them at that time to be useless way stations. The kin'toni that would come to found the Par Anartah clan reached the first of the way stations with relative ease and lay it to siege, forcing the zu'aan to surrender rather than fight them to the death. The kin'toni used their significant experience in the forces of the Xerea Empire to manipulate the zu'aan within the way stations into believing that they had no option but to surrender.

It is said that even then the kin'toni that founded the Par Anartah had foresight enough to know what kind of clan they wanted to create, as at the first way station, the founders spent a long time with all of the surrendered zu'aan, gauging them and only converting those of them with their blood that they believed could be useful in later life. The only zu'aan the Par Anartah founders themselves converted were those of them that they judged to have the best mind for trade and research.

The rest of the zu'aan they gave to the soldiers for converting on their own, and progressed to the next way station and that way took over the whole swamp.

Psychology

The Par Anartah are a very deliberate kin'toni clan that believes the most important thing is to be prepared, and truly embody the words of their clan which are modelled after an old zu'aan adage: "Fortune favours the prepared". If one were to attend a meeting of the decision making, executive body of the clan, they would find the clan elders in discussion about trade deals that are several decades away, or ones that may probably never materialise. That could be said to be their most pivotal characteristic in regards to their operation.

They do not mind spending time in hypotheticals. Needless to say that the Par Anartah also understand the value of efficiency and ensuring that time is spent wisely, but given the near immortality of their kind, the elder kin'toni began a culture of early and in depth discussions, and this has made all the difference in the fortunes of the clan, their earnings have nearly tripled, earlier the only mode of income had been through the tolls and taxes collected in the swamp cities.

But now the Par Anartah are not mere merchants but innovators that has allowed them to gain a foothold in the market and become rich beyond the expectations of several political minds in the region. Besides their ability to prepare for deals well ahead of time and their interest in new verticals of thought, the kin'toni are also known to possess a very keen eye for details, they are extremely detail oriented, and generally spend hours in completing tasks that others would perhaps complete within barely one, in this way they are also somewhat tiresome to deal with.

Many traders who are new to dealing with the Par Anartah clan have remarked at the sometimes exasperatingly long turn around times in the finalisation of contracts, and are often frustrated with requests of change and corrections to seemingly mundane language terms. This attention to detail, little to the knowledge clan outsiders, has meant a great amount of favourable terms put in place ahead of a time when they would become useful.

Some clan members will also freely admit that some changes in language are meant to confuse the other party into acceding to a desirable change hidden among several hundred no important language changes. In such a way they are able to manipulate the other trader into blindly accepting all changes rather than investing the time to go over every single change. This tactic is not that useful for the kin'toni clans that well versed with the modus operandi of the Par Anartah clan.

And they are especially careful in the trade negotiations for they certainly have felt the sting of a term given up in haste that later turned out to be essential in the carrying out the trade. In perhaps one sentence, it is easy to summarise that although the kin'toni are in an exceptional position today, they have only come to it through centuries of hard work and careful deliberation, none of the characteristics that have led them to success are a guarded secret.

Biology

The kin'toni of this clan are not very different from the typical kin'toni, they are average in both appearance and ability, and the only reason why they have become risen above the rest has been excpetional leadership and a tenacious mindset. Even membership to the clan is not something that is based on bloodline but rather the mind and the personality of the applicant, The Par Anartah recruit members on an annual basis, not all those who apply are even invited to the first part of the process.

The applicants to the clan are required to display an ability to work dedicatedly towards a goal without being distracted, and a thorough understanding of the self. It is said that the Par Anartah have setup surveillance wings of kin'toni that monitors all those who apply, the level of investment in the recruitment is signifiant as through this process they are able to access the minds that drive the change in their society and cause for them to improve their position in the world.

Although given the inbuilt trait of the kin'toni kind, their bodies have begun to adapt to their environment as well as the kind of work they perform, since the Par Anartah have not had the need to themselves enter into battle for nigh on a century, their bodies have instead adapted to the work they perform daily. As such the kin'toni are much smaller and lighter in terms of muscle mass when compared to other kin'toni, however this adaptation is not only limited to the kin'toni of the Par Anartah but rather many of those kin'toni clans that have begun to take roles away from the battlefield.

It is especially common for the kin'toni that live ad trade within the swamp cities. It is important to note, that though the kin'toni have become weaker and smaller in muscle mass, they still continue to be much stronger than the zu'aan from whom they evolved. Their difference only become apparent when compared to a kin'toni that continue to wage wars and wield weapons. An adaptation that has been observed in the Par Anartah that is perhaps not so clearly visible or even detectable is their attention to detail.

Although several kin'toni have claimed that this ability of theirs ls merely hard work and diligent practice and discipline, others have disagreed. Some have gone to the extent of claiming that the Par Anartah clan members brain is much larger and heavier than that of the average kin'toni, and although the test to prove the analogy would be pretty easy to provide, the Par Anartah have failed to do so and have only claimed that the kin'toni are being misled, and that the Par Anartah are not specially adapted to benefit the condition of trade.

As many other kin'toni clans have come to claim about their success. The tests that have been done with the live members of the clan that have volunteered has not allowed for believable results in the favour of the analogy either. They have dark yellow irises with black sclerae and a vertical slit pupils

Culture

In terms of sheer number, the Par Anartah have been in possession of the Iturn Dead Swamp for a very long time, and their culture is that of the swamp cities themselves. Although the cities have developed distinct identities and the differences in kin'toni belonging to these different societies is clear, there are similarities that tie together not only the cities themselves but the cities with the Par Anartah clan. Perhaps the most important cultural difference that can be observed here in comparison to the other regions of the kin'toni world is the importance of gold and currency.

Undoubtedly, in many other parts of the world, money is an essential commodity that has the ability to define the kin'toni and the life the kin'toni is bound to lead, but in no region besides he swamps is money the only defining factor. For instance, the people of the Mal Jade Cliffs are more concerned with how well an archer is able to hunt an animal rather than how much coin he can spend for a meal, but in he swamps, coin is supreme, and gold is the king of coins. Whoever has the most gold coins in the region can live as if one of the Emperors of the Xerea Empire.

This feature of the society was a product of the location of the swamp as well as its development by the kin'toni of the Par Anartah who have always assigned worth on the basis of enterprising ability and gold is an accurate metric for such a measurement. Another unique aspect of the society here in the swamps is that of the Codes, the Par Anartah founded the codes in order to ensure that their homeland was not altered and remained profitable. At first glance of the Codes.

An individual would probably assume the codes to be supremely altruistic laws that the clan founded in order to allow for the preservation of the animal and plant species of the region that they so cherish. That individual could not be strictly deemed as being incorrect, but rather naive, for the Par Anartah only care about nature just as much as the next kin'toni, or probably even less, and their intention behind the codes is simple; monopoly. The Par Anartah’s biggest monopoly is that of land.

They own all the lands in Swamp and exact painfully large sums of money from those that wish to procure land in the region, and when asked to explain the reasons for the exorbitant rates, they cite the codes. For the codes explain that the land must be left to nature for its own use, clearing of the forest can only ever be done in limited proportions, and when the lands are cleared of vegetation, the constructing party must make sure that the ruling clan is paid a price for all the trees that are removed from the region so that the ruling clan may them plant the same number of trees in another region of the Iturn Dead Swamp.

Government

The Par Anartah rule over the Swamp Cities is not only through the channels of the law but the combined might of both legitimate government as well as the underworld that forms a powerful corridor of power in the swamp cities. The Par Anartah are undoubtedly of the most powerful clans in the whole of the Ashat nation, and have always been so, however, in the recent past, especially since they became actively involved in the commercial sector with determination, they have come to become one of the most important clans in the whole of Erea.

Their resources now rival those of ruling governments of entire nations rather than just provinces, and it is being whispered in the Jau jungle hills, that the even the Pioneer clans’ council is considering broadening their membership to include the Par Anartah within the government. This would indeed be a huge accomplishment as the council has always had the same clans within its number since the founding of the nation and the inclusion of the Par Anartah would be the first such move in the history of the nation.

There is perhaps an element of frustration within the capital about the Par Anartah, it isn’t extremely evident but has begun to come into the limelight recently. Those that are seasoned in the political affairs of the nation are certain that the inclusion of the clan to the council is aimed at being a conciliatory gesture, and not one of true recognition, after all which government would choose to share power with someone they considered to be beneath them. It is quite well known that the council and the Par Anartah do not see eye to eye.

In fact if one were to have a look at the communications exchanged between the administrators it would be clear that there is an undercurrent of enmity in the exchanged letters. The reason for the same is quite simple, in becoming a financial powerhouse, the Par Anartah have come into possession of resources that would allow the kin'toni to separate from the Ashat nation and form a nation of their own. In such a move not only would they have the required resources but their location within the Ashat nation would effectively make the whole nation weaker.

For the swamps are where several strategic routes of supply and travel run through. If the Ashat nation were to loose the routes of the swamp their ability to mobilise resources would be severely diminished. The negotiations with the council are certainly on their last leg, as the council seems to be giving the province greater room in governance of internal affairs, in only the last decade, the council had sent forth twenty Greenwood missives to the Par Anartah Clan and nearly half of those had been sent via the use of a Galaka Warrior.

For those familiar with the nature of the Greenwood missives, the sheer number of the messages exchanged would indicate a troubling situation. However since there have been no such messages delivered throughout the last two years, it seems the situation has begun to turn.

Military

The Par Anartah do have a background in the military but their troops have never been particularly established in the art of warfare, and although there has been a lot of talk about the Par Anartah severing bonds with the Ashat Nation, one of the biggest reasons that it hasn’t already happened is indeed the weakness of the Par Anartah in any military conflict. When initially forming the regions of the swamp cities, the clan had an active military branch that involved almost all members, but as the operations in the cities began to move towards that of a commercial centre.

The Par Anartah themselves moved away from active military participation into the role of administrators. Although the branch of the clans own army continues to exist even today, it can never be thought of as a unit that could withstand a martial manoeuvre of any significant size. Most clan members are required to serve an obligatory decade within the martial units every century, but the more important families in the clan are able to come up with excuses fr why they aren’t able to meet the demands of the army.

The martial unit of the clan is seen more of a punishment posting, where clan members that are unable to perform well or heed the instructions of the clan leadership are sent to stew in the disapproval of their overseers. The Par Anartah themselves form barely one percent of the total number of kin'toni that form the marital unit of the clan, they are the command structure, while the actual soldiers are from those of offshoot clans that reside in the region. The martial unit has not seen an engagement since the Shattering.

And though the army is one of the best supplied and armed forces in the whole of Erea, it severely lacks the experience needed for the conduction of successful warfare. In fact even during the worst times of the Par Anartah, when it was certain that they wouldn’t be able to retain the control of the swamps and one of the usurping merchant clans would take over, the Par Anartah did not not resort to use of open warfare to win back their power but rather relied upon their mercantile guile and their skills of trade rather than the sword to win back their control of the Swamp Cities.

It has been discussed several times that perhaps the clan should send some of their officers to the Fa’aka military college in the Swaynish Highlands for training, but this proposal has been outrightly and very publicly dismissed. The expense of training at the college is ridiculously high and the elders of the clan do not believe that the future of their fortune is not based upon the success of the conduction of war but rather the might of their mercantile forces.

In the end, the military wing of the army has become a policing force that is relied upon to conduct regular patrols within the cities and try to maintain the obedience of the codes.

Religion

The Par Anartah confess publicly to be atheists, believing in neither any pagan gods of the Xerea Empire or the monotheistic god of the kin'toni clans of todays’ world. Their ideology has filtered down through the echelons of Power and is very much the commonly held belief of even the common citizens that live in the swamp cities. They do however have several rituals and traditions that are passed down through to all kin'toni, but these are mostly about living life in the swamps rather than about finding spiritual salvation as the traditions and rituals of other kin'toni clans are meant to bring about.

Thats’ not to say that they have no system of looking after their spiritual well being but rather they do not believe that praying to an entity is the solution of the turmoil all kin'toni are bound to experience at one point or another. In the Par Anartah lands, there is a unique practice that is taught to the citizens, a practice called Sag'tharun, said to be passed down from the military generals of the Xerea Empire to the founders of the clan. This practice, Sag'tharun, has since its introduction spun out several variants according to the needs of the practitioner.

for instance the most popular forms of the practice is the Ashthanga Sag'tharun, a discipline evolved by the small warrior clans that are formed from the Par Anartha clan. The name of the practice is said to refer to eight limbs of the practitioners, four in the physical realm and four from the spiritual realm. Sag'tharun as a whole is meant to create a greater self awareness not only of the mind and the body but also of the environment, that is why most sessions of the practice are held outdoors where the kin'toni is able to physically feel the elements.

Sag'tharun is an activity generally done with a large group, with one leader directing the movements of the rest, it involves deep and rhythmic breathing and continuous chanting, as the leader guides the group from one excercise to the next. Overall, it can be an especially tiring process but when done in the right manner, the fatigue brought about can unlock feelings of insecurity and stress. There are variants of the practice to fit special roles, for instance the Ashtanga Sag'tharun is much more physically challenging than the traditional practice.

And while the general practice requires a period of rest before closure of practice, Ashtanga generally ends with a series of cardio exercises that only increase the feelings of fatigue that one experience after a session of the Sag'tharun. The other variants of the practice are more focussed on the spiritual aspect of the practice, involving active meditation on daily phenomenas so as to better inculcate an understanding of nature at large. The practice of Sag'tharun has not been popularly adopted by other regions.

In fact even the kin'toni that practice it in the Swamps avoid doing so in other regions and claim that the activity isn’t quite engaging outside of the swamps.

Miscellany

The progress of the Par Anartah clan has been divided into certain phases of development, in principle although the changes in their method of operation have been numerous, it is possible to break them down into three separate phases, the first phase was that of the martial phase. This was the very founding of the clan, when the Par Anartah founders took over the way stations that were found throughout the Swamps, although the wars fought during this phase were not particularly violent, the leadership provided by the Par Anartah founders was what turned the tide.

The army that was formed here soon transformed into one meant for law keeping rather than the guarding of the borders or the fighting of any wars. The second stage in the development of the Par Anartah was the phase of the Administrators, during this part of their development, the kin'toni turned in their swords for ledgers and account books. The rivers that had once been used by the zu'aan to resupply their cities, became the lifeline of the Ashat nation, with their hubs based in the swamps.

The transport ability of the rivers allowed the Ashat nation to consolidates its hold on the land and bound all the disparate regions into one federal nation under a singular central authority. The reason for the success of this stage was definitely the organisation and diligence of the Par Anartah clan, they were dutiful administrators in this part of the nation’s history. Collecting the taxes that were due to the council with all honesty and enriching the council’s coffers, till today many remark that if it were not for the tax collected at the Swamps, the council’s rule would have been a lot more tenuous.

This administration phase of their rule also saw the greatest fall in their stature, as the par Anartah became diligent administrators of the council at the Jau Jungle Hills, the other kin'toni clans that had moved into the swamps began to manipulate the system laid by the Par Anartah to try and hurt them and unseat them in their control of the region. These clans were successful too, they nearly completely destroyed the small fortunes that the kin'toni had set aside for themselves, and seized from them the control of two of the three most important kin'toni cities of the Swamps.

Driven to the point of near extinction, the Par Anartah adapted and morphed into their final form, one which they continue to occupy today. This final form is that of the Merchant, as the kin'toni clan turned away from being the protectors of the interests of the pioneer clans’ council, and instead adopted the lives of merchants and began to administer the region not for the gain of a central authority sitting far away but rather for their own personal gain.

In this final phase the Par Anartah have walked away from the shadow of the central authority, and claimed their own position in the world as one of the most powerful clans in whole continent.

Nearby Groups

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Par Anartah Kin'toni Clan

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