Sagado Kin'toni Clan

History

The Sagado Kin’toni clan is a relatively new tribe, created in 4E 170. The Sagado kin’tonis live in the caves of the Sagado canyons in deep maws where the sun never reaches. As a result, they can function in the shades during daytime. They are fore and foremost ore miners, looking for rare metals, and forgers who create weapons, armors and shields from the iron. They branched off from one of the oldest kin’toni tribes, the Shy’is Kin’toni clan, in 4E 170. Their role is to primarily supply other kin’tonis clans they are affiliated with with weaponry and armor in exchange for fresh blood supplies.

The Sagado Kin’toni clan was formed by a master weaponsmith from the Shy’is clan who is as old as 240 years old. They have evolved differently from the Shy’is clan members due to their exposure to the red canyons of Sagado. They work day and night to dig out minerals from the rich caves of the Sagado area. They also mine gold and silver and created a money system which is used by most of the kin’toni clans. They named their money the Shira which is now used by many kin’toni clans. The money system has greatly facilitated trade among the kin’tonis from different clans. They managed to put value on weapons and armor as well as pricing blood.

The Sagado are not too far away from the Shy’is and keep good relations with them. The Shy’is provide them with blood supplies in exchange for weapons and armor. They also trade jewellery and gold for blood or money. The Sagado are one of the richest tribes among the kin’tonis. They have amassed a huge amount of Shira with which they can buy as much blood as they want. They are never hungry as a result and if trade is not going well with certain tribes or clans, they can always seek out new potential traders. The Sagado Kin’toni clan have created trade routes which lead to other kin’toni clans’ cities or villages.

They only travel at night in chariots or carts to carry out their businesses and bring the goods to other clans as an extra service to acquire more Shira. There is even a shopping district in the Sagado canyons where kin’tonis from other clans travel to buy weapons or sell blood supplies. The Sagado kin’tonis are one of the best traders and merchants, having created the money system themselves, and allowing and facilitating trade with other clans through monetisation and blood pricing.

The sheer amount of money or Shira that they possess is enough to buy out a large amont of Calai's blood supply. They are a very powerful tribe which consists of around 50 expert weaponsmiths, 100 ore miners and around 20 merchants. They may be small in numbers, but their expertise and know-how are what makes them valuable assets. Many kin’toni clans depend on them. They are a small but extremely powerful clan, made up of only some of the best weaponsmiths and traders among the kin’tonis.

Biology

The Sagado kin’tonis have a high tolerance to heat. They work day and night in the shade of the canyons where they live but are always working with fire and heat, moulding the metals into weapons and armor and hammering them into shape. This constant exposure to heat and firelight gave them a tan complexion, even if they are still intolerant to sunlight.Their eyes have dark red irises with white sclerae and horizontal slit pupils. Their eyes never tire from looking at fiery glows and they can spend several days without sleep. They are a hardworking kin’toni race.

Their tough and arduous work made them develop a bulky and stout build, with big arms adapted for hammering weapons and armor into shape and digging metals with tools like pickaxes. Even the merchants possess the same build, carrying and lifting all the tools and goods in their strong arms. The Sagado kin’tonis do not have very sensitive hearing because they have to work with the clings and clangs of metals and hammers all the time. But loud noises do not faze or hurt them contrary to other kin’toni races who have oversensitive hearing. They never go deaf from loud noise and can work and function normally with deafening sounds.

They talk very loudly however and cannot understand whispers, which are too soft for their ears. Sagado kin’tonis can touch very hot objects without burning their skins. The skin of Sagado is very rough, coarse and thick, and their hands and feet are calloused. A zu'aan who has been bitten by a Sagado develops those features naturally even if they have not spent a day working in their life. They do not have a very sensitive touch however and cannot feel the temperature of things. Hot and cold are the same to them. They can place their hand in a low fire without burning because their skins are very tough, almost like an exoskeleton.

It is very difficult for them to feel pain because of how calloused their hands and feet are. They are not tired very easily. Sagado kin’tonis have very dulled senses in general, Even their sense of smell is quite poor. They have to work in fumes and smoke all the time and breathing those toxic smokes have made their lungs very tolerant to what would be lethal to any zu'aan. They can thus breathe smoke without getting sick or poisoned. Their lungs are like tough charcoal. They cannot smell any perfume or even blood because they are so used to breathing smoke.

The Sagado kin’tonis are bald or hairless, even the women, and are highly tolerant to heat and fire. They do not have hair because it would catch fire if they did. The light of day is however still very lethal to them because its rays come from the strongest fires of the sun itself. While zu'aan do not burn in sunlight, but burn in fires, it’s the contrary for Sagado. The sun is a mysterious element that is very lethal for all kin’tonis regardless of their resistances. It is still a mystery why the Sagado, who are tolerant to high temperatures, burn in sunlight.

Culture

Sagado kin’tonis have a culture that revolves around fire. They always light up the caves with lamps and torches, sometimes lighting up candles for special occasions like birthdays or celebrations. The caves of the Sagado canyons are always alight and never rest. It is as if the small cave city was always awake. The Sagado clan sleeps even with their lights on, normally for only an hour or two after several days. They enjoy looking at the glow of the firelights and the darkness scares them. Even the carts and chariots they use to travel and do business are lit up with lamps.

The Sagado have devised matches from sulphur found in some of the Sagado caves. If they do not have matches they use the traditional red silica rocks to light up a spark. But since they do not have wood they have to buy them from other kin’toni clans. So they prefer to light up metallic lamps instead of using torches. The lamps are crafted by expert smiths and look quite intricate and beautiful. In Sagado culture, everyone needs a lit up lamp in their home at all times. An unlit lamps represents bad fortune. Sagado culture involves rites of fire, where the Sagado kin’tonis often dance in metallic clothes or armor around a bonfire.

While most of the time they wear loose clothing made of fabric to fit in with the rest of Taerel, they will also wear metallic plates over them especially during celebrations or rites of fire. It is almost like armor but they make shirts and pants made of metal which they wear over their bare skin. Many Sagado wear chainmail like ordinary shirts. Women wear robes of chainmail or long metallic plates for skirts. Sagado kin’tonis enjoy eating bloodroot mixed with blood, which they call bloodroot soup. While most Sagado kin’tonis drink blood directly from their prey because it is fresh, some like to deplete the blood from their victims and pour it in a large cooking pot where they mix the blood with the bloodroot and let it boil.

It is more consistent, some say. For feasts, the Sagado bring a large number of zu'aan and slaughter them to make bloodroot soup for everyone. It is a new custom which began in year 4E 240. The Sagado enjoy playing with fire. They use torches and juggle them around skillfully to entertain the crowd during celebrations. There are also some who are called Flame Breathers because they can blow flames from torches like dragons. Sometimes, the Sagado will reunite after long days of work around a huge bonfire, to tell tales of their travels to other kin’toni lands, sometimes telling tales of danger in zu'aan enemy territory or simply to talk about their day or night working and narrate how exciting or boring it was.

The Sagado clan lives like a big and hearty family of kin’tonis. They see themselves as belonging to the same family even if they are in the hundreds and always welcome new members into their clan with open arms. Family is a valuable concept in the Sagado clan. The Sagado founder is the master weaponsmith and the father figure of the rest of the Sagado.

Government

The Sagado Kin’toni clan has a tribal government. The master weaponsmith, the first Sagado kin’toni, is the chief of the small tribe. Hefaus, the chief of the Sagado, oversees all the activities of the other weaponsmiths. He is in charge of supervising their work and progress and making sure that they finish their quota before deadlines. He also trains new weaponsmiths who are talented to excel even more at their craft. The lesser smiths are relegated to making metallic clothes or lamps. Some smiths work with fine and precious ore to make intricate jewellery.

Chief Hefaus may have created the money system but he leaves all the accounting tasks to the expert merchants. He has elected one such merchant to be at the head of all trading activities. The elected official is the minister of commerce and he oversees all trades and all the other merchants work under him. The minister of commerce is a very good mathematician, having devised and created numbers and calculus to determine and understand the flow of money or Shira. The Sagado government is relatively small but very efficient. They are geniuses and innovators when it comes to inventions, whether it be material or even academic.

While they do not know how to write, they know how to count. The government has created a small economy from nothing, finding a strategic place to sustain their clan. The red canyons of Sagado are brimming with riches and ores. Hefaus had decided to create his own clan after finding such a rare place, ideal for enriching his own clan and ensuring their survival. There is also a ministry of mining. The minister of mining makes sure that ore and metals are always dug. The miners dig and construct new caves in the canyons, even digging in the rocky earth to find rare metals or gems.

They have discovered coal and oil beneath the earth and use those to keep their fires on during the day and night for a longer period of time. It is one of the most lucrative ministries because other kin’toni clans prize rare gems or metals, and the Sagado sell them for a very expensive price, knowing and realizing their value in Taerel. While the Sagado clan does not have a real military, they still have one military official, another weaponsmith by trade. The military official ensures that the Sagado canyons are always secure from enemy zu'aan who would try to tread upon their land to steal ore or destroy the clan.

They have to hire guards and sentries from different kin’toni clans who are more geared for combat. The guards who are trained for combat do not belong to the Sagado clan but they are paid handsomely for the security they provide. The minister of defense is responsible for hiring a small army made up of different warrior kin’tonis hailing from different warrior clans. The Sagado Kin’toni clan has only three ministries but they are very efficient and are probably some of most innovative ministries in Taerel, way ahead of their time.

Military

The Sagado Kin’toni clan’s military is quite particular. They do not have an army of their own but hire martial experts to work for them and keep them safe. Warriors from different kin’toni clans are hired by the Sagado in exchange for food, money, ore, weapons or armor. The army is quite united even if the kin’toni warriors have different roots. They have to respect a monthly contract with the Sagado to acquire what they want. Working in the military has its perks since warriors are fed and lodged during their services. The Sagado military also has scouts who look for new lands or territories which the Sagado kin’tonis can exploit.

The military is not only defensive but offensive when it comes to finding and claiming territories that present opportunities for the Sagado to get richer. The canyons are not always safe since zu'aan sometimes travel through those canyons to avoid monsters on the surface above the maws. Little do the zu'aan know what awaits them in the maws. The Sagado canyons are relatively safe, but the Sagado clan is very previsive. They are fearful of armed and dangerous zu'aan. The Sagado kin’tonis are not completely defenseless on their own. Their high resistance to fire and high temperatures make them hard to kill.

The Sagado can use fire as a weapon and throw torches at their enemies. In fact, the military with foreign kin’tonis was created after an attack by zu'aan travelers on the Sagado kin’tonis. The Sagado kin’tonis originally defended themselves with fire and torches, also wielding some of the weapons they made even if they were not trained to fight. The military is, contrary to what one might believe, very disciplined and structured. The Sagado kin’toni clan made sure that their military was composed of some of the best warriors on Taerel. Some have night vision, others high olfactory senses, extreme agility or speed or superhuman strength.

These qualities are screened by the ministry of defense and the army is structured in such a way that the warriors are given roles where their abilities can serve them best. For example kin’tonis with night vision are sent to patrol the canyons’ borders at night to spot any intruders. The Sagado military is also experimenting with new weapons, namely explosives or napalms. With the discovery of oil and sulphur and other inflammable substances in the deep canyons of Sagado, the Sagado clan have devised some flammable weapons.

Those new weapons have not yet been made for sale and trade but some warriors in the Sagado military have the chance to wield them and test their effects on the zu'aan. The military is mostly made up of Shy’is warriors because they are the ancestors of the Sagado clan and as such are given preferential treatment. The Shy’is’ relations with the Sagado are very friendly and respectful since the Sagado chief Hefaus was one of the Shy’is before evolving into a Sagado kin’toni. If the other kin’tonis clans may not be willing to serve the Sagado all the time, the Sagado can count on the Shy’is to protect them. As long as they supply the Shy’is with weapons and ore.

Religion

The Sagado Kin’toni clan has a monotheistic religion. They only believe in the Fire God, Heul. Heul, also known as the religion, is a relatively new belief. Hefaus created Heul to give his life some purpose. To him, Heul, the Fire God, is the one who breathes life into all beings, even zu'aan. The Sagado kin’tonis know that the zu'aan cannot live without fire and are grateful to the Fire God for providing their prey with flames to cook their meals or warm themselves at night so that their life is preserved and their blood stays warm. The Sagado are grateful that fire exists to ensure that their prey will be healthy enough and produce enough blood for them to feast upon.

Religious practices involve rites of fire or baptism by fire. Every year the Sagado kin’tonis have to baptise themselves in the flames to renew their life’s purpose. It is also a way to cleanse themselves. They do not bathe with water but with flames. It purifies their bodies and their souls. Just like how fire can bend and reshape metals or ores, the Sagado believe that fire can reshape their souls. They often stay near a fire to pray and meditate, trying to reshape their souls and give them a new form. The Sagado kin’toni clan also light up candles that they purchase from other clans for fancier religious events.

Those fancy religious events are birthday celebrations of Sagado kin’tonis. The birthday of a kin’toni is sacred because all kin’toni were once zu'aan and they commemorate their past life as zu'aan. Sagado kin’toni have one birthday, that they remember from their zu'aan years, and another event called the rebirthday, the day they were reborn as kin’tonis. The rebirthday is more important for most Sagado kin’tonis and some neglect their real birthday. The Sagado kin’tonis praise Heul the Fire God for His ingenuity. To them, He is the One who sparks ideas in their minds.

Just like how a spark from two red silica rocks can create a fire, the Sagado kin’tonis believe that the ideas that spark in their mind come from the Fire God. They use those sparks of inspiration to develop their ideas and turn them into real things, from innovative weapons to smart counting techniques. Another Sagado religious practice involves branding. Branding is a way to show that Sagado kin’tonis have transcended their state as ordinary kin’tonis. Only the most intelligent and innovative kin’tonis from the Sagado clan can be branded by Chief Hefaus himself.

Branding is done by using a sharp and hot dagger and carving the symbol of the Fire God in the back of the transcended kin’toni. It can be very painful but once the fire symbol is carved in the flesh a spray of fire is used to cauterize the wound even more. The symbol looks like a black carved tattoo on the backs of the branded. The Fire God in Sagado religion also represents good fortune. Without fire, there would be darkness, and darkness represents ill-fortune.

Miscellany

There are no historical records of the Sagado kin’toni clan even if they exist only since the year 4E 170. Since the chief, Hefaus, is illiterate the Sagado kin’tonis do not write down their history. However they can draw plans and write numbers and mathematical calculations. They do not use quills or parchment for that but slates which they write on with rock pens. Slates are useful since they can erase their calculations easily to make new ones. They draw plans or blueprints on slabs of rock by carving the rocks with the models of weapons and armor for reference.

Sagado kin’tonis are not very appealing to look at and have small canines compared to most kin’tonis. While they can drink blood from their victims, they prefer to slice their victim’s throat with a dagger to drink the blood more easily and save time. Their stout build makes them look less intelligent than they really are, but they are in fact one of the most intelligent kin’tonis of Taerel, maybe even more intelligent than some zu'aan. The Shira, the Sagado Kin'toni Clan's currency, consists of gold, silver, bronze and iron coins. They are used by many kin’toni clans.

Iron coins are most common while gold coins are very rare. The Sagado kin’tonis make money at will and have an huge amount in their lair. They also keep gold, silver and rare gems and treasures in a secret cave known only to Hefaus and the ministers. Sagado kin’tonis have a law against robbery or thievery. It is illegal to rob or steal from the Sagado. The penalties often involve being kicked out of the clan. If the thief is a zu'aan he is executed through immolation without having his blood drunk. The blood is filthy if it comes from a thief according to Sagado superstition.

If the thief is a kin’toni warrior from one of the different clans, he is sent away never to be hired again. They are called Ungratefuls. The Sagado kin’tonis’ superstition that darkness represents ill-fortune comes from Chief Hefaus’ own experience. He was busy weaponsmithing at night when he was still a Shy’is. Until he heard a strange howling sound. When he left the fires of his furnace to go out at night and see where the sound came from, he stopped hearing it. And when he came back to his furnace it was no longer on fire and the weapon he was forging had disappeared.

Ever since he knew that the dark was bad for business. The firelights ward off monsters and thieves, that is why it represents good fortune. Chief Hefaus might have created the religion Heul but what he does not know is that there is already a zu'aan equivalent to Heul or the Fire God. The zu'aan praise the zu'aan equivalent of the Fire God since centuries. But Hefaus was never a religious man when he was a zu'aan. He has in other words reinvented a zu'aan religion without knowing that it existed.

Nearby Groups

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Sagado Kin'toni Clan

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