Ropol Kin'toni Clan

History

To the West of the lonely mountains laid the scrublands, the home of the Ropol clan, a gentle yet fierce race of kin'toni. The Ropol has always lived in the swampy farmlands and it made sense for them to stay there after they had turned into kin'toni. They were simple farmers when they were zu'aan and loved the trade, continuing to farm even while they couldn't eat it themselves. The trade with the Polgaru clan was lucrative enough in the sense that they were able to have the food they could eat while also enjoying their favorite job and pastime. They were very skilled farmers and could know from a simple glance if the food they were growing was ripe or rotten.

After the initial few trades from the Polgaru clan, they had excess food supply and decided to use what they didn't eat as fertilizer for a small portion of their farms and it had turned the food into zu'aan infused foods that were now edible for the kin'toni. They were overjoyed that they were able to make such a thing and were able to now eat the foods they used to enjoy, even if the taste was a bit off from the original. They tried to trade it with the Polgaru but after some negotiation, the Polgaru decided that since they have a big influx of zu'aan already, they didn't need the zu'aan infused foods and proposed that they trade with some of the other clans near them, perhaps the Nyale or the Ninal clan.

The Ropol took the Polgaru's suggestion into consideration and now have two other prospering trade routes in exchange for spring water from the Ninal clan that helps their food grow and building supplies from the Nyale that allow them to build storage sheds for the ready food that can be shipped out. The fact that there were others who were willing to trade astounded the Ropol and it made them grateful that they didn't have any negative tribes around them, less the Undal who lived at the top of the mountain. The Ropol weren't much of fighters and whenever the informants from the mountain had come to say that there would be an attack.

They sent someone of large stature to dress like the Undal and sabotage the plans, allowing them to remain peaceful and in their own space. The leader of the Ropol, Igiru, was a kin'toni that knows the hardships that come with war and wanted nothing to do with it, which is why he was the one to reach out to other clans about establishing trade and allies. As much as they loved their new lifestyle, the entire clan missed their old ways and longed for a cure.

Psychology

The Ropol were a very peaceful kin'toni clan and did not like to get wrapped up in meaningless battles with the Undal clan, who lived at the top of the mountains. The Ropol did not have weapons and were not skilled in fighting, they did not have protection whatsoever from others who did want to harm them. They believed that happiness came from doing what they wanted and loved to do what they used to do when they were zu'aan, which in their case was farming. They harvested many different types of zu'aan food from both the ground and the nurseries they had within the strubland swamp.

The Ropol did not believe in killing their own food and were very isolated from the zu'aan cities and villages. Some zu'aan, however, still find their way into the Ropol encampment. During these times, the Ropol try their best to have no contact with the living zu'aan as they didn't know the appropriate response to the encounters. During those visits, the zu'aan is given fresh food and a vacant house to stay in until their departure, making it known that the entire clan is kin'toni from the way they sniffed the air from them walking past.

Though the kin'toni are gentle and not fierce toward any living thing, they still do not trust themselves to be gentle if a living, breathing zu'aan stays with them for too long. Their lifestyle allows them to keep busy and stay away from the zu'aan for long periods of time so they won't get any urges to turn into the monsters that they hate to admit that they are. They like to be by themselves and they are awkward when interacting with other clans or traveling zu'aan. It is because of this that the other kin'toni clans are always so nice to them and the zu'aan aren't afraid to travel through their lands.

The children in the clan are the most curious and speak out for the clan when a being is traveling through. They have control over their instincts just like the rest of the clan and can carry conversations, asking what the traveler needs and when they will be leaving. They are also capable of telling directions and what kin'toni clans they should avoid should they be heading in their direction, which is mainly the Undal and Tonkel clans. To others, the children come off as well mannered and respectful regardless if they're kin'toni or not, they make others feel welcome.

An extra bonus to having the children interact with the travelers is that the adults in the clan can continue working in the fields and meet with the elders in order to keep up relations with the other kin'toni clans without having to worry about the zu'aan or kin'toni staying in the village.

Biology

The Ropol clan didn't get many mutations when the plague hit, their skin developed earthy tones as they sleep on the ground, close to where they farm. Their eyes all turned a deep shade of green to match the moss that float around the water in the strublands. Of course, they developed the carnivorous tendencies that come with being a kin'toni and their teeth turned into razor sharp canines. They were able to mask their presenece but it's a mutation that they never really used as they didn't need it and they don't want to use it.

Though it was slight, they also saw a change in their height, the average height being 5'9" to 6' range for the adults and it seems like ever since the plague had washed over them, they were significantly shorter, the shortest at 5'5" and the tallest being 5'8". They didn't have a desire to hunt their own food and didn't exactly like the new way that they were supposed to live and at first, they rejected it. They caught and cooked the nearby animals that lived in the area, though it didn't curb their hunger, it held them over until their next meal.

Once trade began with the Polgaru, the Ropol had a sufficient amount of zu'aan to feast on and they were able to function better in their own community and decided that trading with others would benefit them as well. With their own creation of the zu'aan infused foods, they had something that no one else had and tried to trade it as well as the regular foods. Even though the kin'toni who represented the clan leaders liked the idea, the clans ultimately didn't want to make the switch to eating regular food anymore so the food was now solely their unless the merchants requested some for themselves.

Though, they did trade the regular food with the other two clans as they had more zu'aan travelers in their regions and it was beneficial for them. The Ropol clan rarely engages in battle and their bodies did not allow them to have any advantage in battle anyway. They are farmers through and through and enjoy doing work outside, the sun doesn't bother them and they don't feel the need to hide away within their homes as there is usually no one that comes to them except for trades. Their mind had been hardwired to believe that they were safer on their own and, besides trade, they didn't really need anyone else or any interaction aside from their own company.

Igiru had daily meeting with the elders to speak about the next important steps for the Ropol clan. Though there wasn't ever a change in their answer, he still wanted to hear their wisdom and know what the diety had planned for them. It seems as though the Ropol clan hadn't changed except for small details and the clan liked it that way but Igiru had wanted answers on why they didn't change, going to the elders to see if any news from the diety had come up from the last time they had spoken.

Culture

Not very much is known about the Ropoleans, as they so wish to call themselves, but they do have a storied history of telling stories around open flames while gathered in their masses. It is undoubtedly unremarkable to some degree when you look at it from some strange perspective, and yet the mystery surrounding these campfires baffles even their most loyal of allies. Some strange ritual begins the festival of storytelling, and though it isn't exactly clear what specifically this strange ritual is the main hint suggested and alluded to by the Ropol clan is the painstaking amount of planning and preparation involved in these once-per-year campfires, which they dub cauldron ceremonies.

Regardless of the name of these campfire gatherings, they do not use a cauldron of any kind, though they do use a giant half-spheroid of some kind that looks suspiciously like a cauldron but is actually just a massive urn pertaining to the ashes of, as they would describe it, "those who died honorably in battle." They once had an archive -- a library hidden away from the public that only the Ropoleans could access -- but not much is known about this archive. Some within the clan allege that the archive is full of smut and centerfolds, but that's simply not the case.

Others who rule the clan allege that the archive consists mainly of scriptures from the future, though in reality the scriptures are actually from the past but somehow manage to predict the future (meaning their own). Regardless of what the archives contained, no other clan or tribe or region may ever know what, if anything, the archives contained because it is a fiercely-guarded secret that the Ropoleans keep near and dear to their hearts. When a Kin'toni from one of their ally clans found the archives one day, the Kin'toni from said clan was interrogated for what seemed like days.

Sworn to a secret oath to never reveal the contents of said archives, the visitor told nobody of what the Ropolean archives consisted of; and, though the archives were alleged to be the most m ysterious library of Kin'tonian history in all of Taerel, the reality is that there were no documents in said archive, but rather basic necessities for survival. The archives double as a pantry, essentially.Regardless of what the Ropol clan cares to admit or doesn't care to admit, it is commonly believed that this kind of Kin'toni has been known to have a strange genome, an interior body structure that allows them to withstand extreme heat and temperatures as cold as -10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Though they couldn't survive these levels of heat or cold for longer than a few days at a time, the Ropoleans have adapted brilliantly to the current cold snap currently ongoing and may, if they keep themselves warm every now and then, survive the Ice Age gripping Taerel as of late with the right necessities and the right intentions in mind. Such a survivalistic mentality is paramount in the future survival of this clan.

Government

The clan has no formal government, but they have had a great time of pretending to operate as one over the centuries. What's interesting to know about the Ropoleans is that in all the time that they've been a clan they never once had a problem in keeping the ruse going, even if it does mean their form of governing is unusual even by Kin'toni standards. They often have been candid in admitting that their way of governing is "akin to that of a monarchy," though in reality their form of presiding over themselves is half-monarchy, half-dictatorship.

Depending on who rules over the clan, said leader is dubbed Clan Controller for Life until something extremely unusual happens within said leadership and that aforementioned leader is forced to resign as a result of letting too much power get to one's own head. At the end of it all, those presiding over the clan are sworn to a secret oath that they must hide the fact that their government isn't officially recognized in most of the Kin'tonian race, which in itself is kind of hypocritical given how they pass their clan off as half-monarchy, half-dictatorship.

There are three main factions who preside over the clan, each disguising themselves as families though that's the further thing from what they actually are: a three-faction panel and a somewhat limited government. Among the Ropolean government, the factions are divided into the Dictation, Demonstration and Diffusion sectors, all under the auspices of the chosen Clan Controller for Life that holds on to this distinct position for as long as said Controller exists. The rumor going around amongst the regions is that the Clan Controller doesn't have as much power as he or she (depending on the gender) cares to let on.

But whether or not this is actually truth or if it's merely fiction remains to be seen.Regardless, the sections within this Ropolean government have clearly gained a bit of traction in recent decades and are widely believed by neighboring regions to be the ones really calling the shots. In any scenario, the three factions are poised to take complete control over the clan within the next couple of decades should this ongoing attempt at a coup prove successful, which would not only destroy the ruse said clan as a whole have tried to keep going but further prove that they may not actually be capable of governing themselves.

Should this widely-kept secret be exposed to even the closest allies of the Ropoleans, it may irreparably damage the alliances the Ropoleans have attempted so desperately to maintain for the longest time, though in the wake of this new alliances between the Ropoleans and what they believe to be their harshest critics will surely arise. Whatever is to come of all of this is not up to most anyone to say, but in any case the most interesting time in the clan's otherwise somewhat sheltered history is yet to come at any rate. This, in turn, implies something greater than the clan itself.

Military

The Ropoleans have claimed that their military is the most fearless in the Kin'tonian race of Taerel, and that this military of theirs have been known to withstand severe amounts of damage to where they feel no pain and are impervious to some degree; the truth behind this, however, is that they don't really have a military, and (though they operate as one) their military is actually more a close-knit brotherhood, a fraternity of sorts that is almost exclusively male. This brotherhood is only operating as a military to prove that, though right out of every ten recruits have next to no self defense experience whatsoever.

They can learn to do just about anything that an actual military can do. In spite of all this pretentious acuity, they have a remarkable memory and insanely quick reflexes, thus making them amongst the more interesting forces in the Kin'tonian race. They have been known for their surprisingly heightened awareness as well. The Ropoleans within their brotherhood are often times the breadwinners of their clan, overseeing and being responsible for much of the reconstruction of their region as their region was overtaken by a sudden wildfire that was started by what they believed was an act of the most high, or something close to it.

Whatever it was, it prompted the clan's quasi-government of three factions and their Controller to form this brotherhood as a means to make the reconstruction process as effective and quick as possible, though in the nearly few decades since this fire burned down what was essentially the entire region it proved far more effective than quick. Regardless, they always have been known to reconstruct buildings to near immaculate recollection and often work in bunches and groups to ensure that the reconstruction of a building as it was before the fire goes off without a hitch.

In any case, the Ropolean Brotherhood have been known for their long, seemingly tiring workload which somehow doesn't phase the group in the least. They are also dedicated towards the planting of seeds and the growing of plants from those seeds, which is almost as paramount to the group as their construction of obelisks and other kinds of architecture. Usually, they practice on their botany skills whenever they aren't focused on the reconstruction of buildings wiped out and reduced to ashes by this fire.

Even so, the Ropoleans and their brotherhood are the ones responsible mainly for upholding the integrity of their clan and the reputation of their quasi-government. They take their botanical abilities not nearly as seriously, but they always have a knack for planting seeds and nurturing said seeds for sake of not being bored as they can hope that they have something to do as a hobby outside of their architectural duties -- and that, for the most part, seems to make the most sense considering the leaders of the Ropolean Brotherhood are farmers by trades.

Nonetheless, the Ropoleans and their brotherhood, despite being fairly new as a military of some sort, are a military in name only but often could be distinguished as more of a workforce and this clan's main form of employment as of late.

Religion

Strangely enough, most of the clan, if not all of them, are entirely agnostic and therefore have no religion of choice. They're unusually open in admitting this to ally clans and rivals alike, though they are descended from agnostics who they claim founded the clan and then proceeded to coach their ancestors into believing that there was no creator who made Taerel, and that a series of asteroid collusions laid the groundwork for what their region is today. Oddly enough, they are very staunch in their lack of faith in a creator, though they don't dispute that a series of weather-related events allowed the clan to form to start with.

Sadly, the most intelligent in the clan are sworn to uphold the clan's agnostic beliefs, though they themselves are inclined to worship the weather and usually practice their natural praise of precipitation in secret; why this tends to be the case, nobody else knows. Most of the Ropoleans are surprisingly good at being hypocritical, though not in their lack of religion. They say they're recluse for fear of invasion, but because they preach their agnostic beliefs to other clans the reclusiveness is merely untrue and certainly a contradiction.

Regardless of how of why that is, Ropoleans are also judgemental against most others but also claim to be the master key to the future of the Kin'tonis, and that ties into both their hypocrisy and their rather large ego; despite that, they work diligently to achieve their goals and have undoubtedly low expectations for other clans outside of their own given how dysfunctional the clan is as a group. They seem for the most part to be slow to anger, but they are also impatient and can't focus on one task for more than thirty minutes before moving on to another task.

For sure, they will outright admit that they are faithless, claiming all the while that they don't trust anyone other than themselves. But, in the same breath, they let their agnosticism and lack of faith dictate their intolerance amongst themselves and therefore come across as beggars in the eyes of clans who are critical of their way of life. Because of this, the reverse of what they intend is almost always what they unwittingly end up doing in whatever they try, and it still tends to eat away at them daily. No matter what, they look at each other as some sort of support system and will normally work in large groups to achieve what goals they have in mind.

Individually, they often times have very distorted views on what they say created the clan's main place of worship, though in reality they originally built said church and then promptly abandoned it for many decades before first convening. Who's to say that they also seem to lie intentionally about their agnosticism to hide their true religious beliefs and faiths? Likely enough, the answer, if it wasn't hidden from public view decades ago as it was already, it's entirely hidden to where only a select few have ever been know to discover them.

Miscellany

The funniest thing about the Ropoleans -- and, it's not for lack of peacekeeping or defense, they have done what needs to be done to defend their land and clan at any rate -- is that they generally feel guilty for having to defend themselves from other neighboring clans because of their own double-edged insecurities and their overall lack of trust. Many of the Ropolean clan are incredibly intelligent, but also remarkably absentminded as well given their inability to distinguish their rivals from their allies. One often says that they take the adage, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," and mistaken it as anything other than what it really means.

You might even be forgiven for thinking that their social skills are misguided at best. At whatever rate, they genuinely work themselves to the point of exhaustion most nights and are not a group to know when to quit -- or when to begin. A key battle that proves their unique way of being so unsure of their surroundings is the infamous Battle of Broken Brains, where in the early years of 4E they were set to meet with their allies in a clan that now exists under another identity but mistook them for immigrant invaders and attacked.

It took one of the Ropolean clan's leaders to commit suicide in front of his own clan in this unnecessary skirmish for the clan to realize that their allies from a few regions away were only there to spread a message from another clan next door to them regionally that were going to war against them over a land dispute, not to war against them on their own behalf. Immediately after this Battle of Broken Brains, the two clans relegated their meetings to sporadic meetings where the Ropoleans and said allies -- who, as of now, operate under a new name -- agree to meet in a location agreed upon by both parties.

Beforehand, a Civil War had broken between the Ropoleans and had divided the clan in three, eventually leading to the demise of a third of the clan's population. Since the conclusion of said civil war, they have often held a bi-annual tradition where the clan gathers to remember those lost during said war with three straight hours of silence as this was in their best recollection how long the war had lasted (in reality, it lasted for three weeks). Given whether the clan don't know whether it last for three hours or three weeks it's okay to forget that this was the bloodiest, most intense and also the shortest war within a clan or region in the history of the Kin'tonian race.

Three unique distinctions for which a clan should not have been burdened to be known for or even to recognize, that's understood; but, it is nonetheless the sole catalyst for the clan's agnostic beliefs and their lack of faith in themselves and as a whole, though many of them will lie about it and choose freely to not let it on. Of all things, a Civil War as a result of this one battle based on mistaken identity has clearly haunted the clan even as several generations of the clan have passed since said battle and subsequent war... But, they persevere and strive in spite of that to do better.

Nearby Groups

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Ropol Kin'toni Clan

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