Umana Kin'toni Clan

History

The clan was founded by Shakresaw when she and her people stole their first seaworthy zu'aan ship, turned the entire crew, and laid seige to the northern harbour. The spent their days raiding the shoreline, and their nights sneaking on board other ships in the region. Over time they built themselves a small fleet of ships they could use to sail around the coast of the continent and raid villages and settlements as they pleased. In order to have a safe home in between raids, they took over the northern harbour and turned every adult zu'aan.

They left the children be so they could train them how to sail and raid and fight as they grew up. Then after they give birth to their third child, the fully grown zu'aan are turned and permanently joins one of the crews under Shakresaw’s control. Their extensive time out at sea and in the salty depths caused serious mutations which allowed them to push further from the safety of the continental shorelines. their tactics adjusted to suit their new natures, and soon tales of ships crewed by creatures from the dark heart of the seas spread through the coast line.

Other coastal clans began hunting their ships in hopes of stealing their hauls, and zu'aan controlled harbours began placing makeshift defences in the shallows to prevent swift moving ships from crashing ashore. The life of a sea bound raider became ever more difficult and the crews’ tactics adjusted to meet the challenges. They began fastening thick wedges of wood to the nose of the hulls of their ships to turn them into giant spears to use against other ships. The clan also began making much smaller skinnier boats for tiny raiding bands to slip through shoreline defences.

Once they were ready, the clan decided to make on those who were trying to take their sea from them. Life for the clan whilst on shore took on a dual nature. Those who manned ships spent their days preparing for the next raids and hunts, and their nights in celebration and revelry. Those who stayed ashore indulged the nightly vices of the crews and spent their days trading the spoils of the raids with the inland regions for access to materials and supplies to continue and improve their sea raiding lifestyle. Against the hunter ships of their rival coastal clans.

The crews of the Umana clan showed no fear or hesitation as they speared and boarded the vessels. They slaughtered the kin'toni crews and turned any zu'aan slaves before setting the remains of the shps on fire. In some cases it was said that the hunters would happen upon a Umana ship in a dead float in the middle of the sea. The hunters would board the ship, find her empty and take it back to their settlement as a prize. Then at night the Umana would appear from the sea and ransack the settlement, taking their ships and zu'aan and killing every single warrior in the settlement.

Biology

The eyes of the Umana have light green irises with white sclerae and horizontal rectangular pupils that have a biolumenescent glow to help them see in the darkest depths of the seas. Otherwise they have slightly hieghtened vision above water, significanty better vision at night, and amazing underwater vision. They have sensitive hearing that allows them to use echo location when beneath the waves, but at the cost of amplifying everything when they are not submerged. They barely have a sense of smell outside the scent of freshly spilled blood.

Which while being a benefit in tracking prey no matter if its in the water or not, can easily be used to trick them or lure them into a trap. Ranging from short and stout to tall and lanky, the Umana clan members have taken on various features that resemble those found in the aquatic life of the sea. Protective scales cover large portions of their body, making it hard for blades and blunt weapons to do much damage to their bodies. Arrows and other piercing weapons are the only weapons effective on the scaled sections. They have gills that retract into folds near the base of their necks.

This allows them to breathe under water and survive in great depth of the sea. However, this can be a danger to them if the folds are damaged or the gills are exposed to open air. It causes them to drown above water. In the water they are fast and nimble, able to cross vast distances and turn and move around targets as if they were flying through the air. Above water they are faster than the average zu'aan. They are also agile and strong, but their abilities in fighting are more due to training and knowledge of ships rather than natural gifts.

Their hands are slippery with sections of suction ribing for added grip and webbed with needle-like barbs at their tips. Their feet are webbed and wide with talons instead of toes. Fins lay against their legs and arms to give them better control when they are traversing the depths. Those with hair find their hair is soft and thick when wet, but grows knotted and brittle when it dries and causes their scalps to crack. To prevent this the contantly pour water over their heads. They have sharp thin fangs instead of regular teeth. These allow them to rip into their prey and drain them in minutes.

They are resistant to the regular shifts in weather, but not to the most extremes of hot or cold. Both situations causes them to dry out. They are vulnerable to fire when above the waters, and ice sends them into shock. They can withstand most but the strongest poisons and toxins. Oil and other such viscuos materials can cause their pores to clog and lead to them suffocating. So they are very careful to avoid getting such substances on their skin. Once a month their scales shed and it takes a week for the new ones to grow.

Culture

While they hold complete control of a harbour in the northern sea, the majority of the clan is used to living much of their lives on board their ships as they roam the seas and continental coastline in search of zu'aan to turn and places to raid. Each crew member learns every inch of their ship and every other ship the clan controls from before they are even turned. Those who were born at the harbour town as zu'aan are raised in the midst of the clan and know only the life of piracy and sailing that the clan thrives in. Throughout their life as a zu'aan member in the clan.

They are taught every aspect of sailing and raiding and trading so they may one day be turned and join the one of the crews. The largest of the ships is captained by Shakresaw and often acts as the most exploratory vessel of the armada, looking for new paths to travel and new lands to raid. The harbour is built around the maintenance and construction of ships as well as a storage house and trading post to get new materials. There is also a weapons smith and an armourer who makes sure every crew is well outfitted for any trouble in the raids.

There is also a place devoted specifically to the rituals for their god and that is near a place designed for the crews to celebrate their victories and the chance for better hauls. The entire clan works together to send the ships out to raid and hunt. The clan members wear clothes made of thick cloth and sturdy leathers to withstand winds and seaspray as much as to protect them from enemy weapons. Many of them design their outfits to envoke monstrous forms to frighten those they raid into surrendering without much fight. Those who crew a ship will often get tattoos to symbolise their adventure.

Every ship has a unique motif in its design, symbols, colouration, and iconography that is tied to the person who captains it, and each crew member wears the symbol of their captian on a cloth band to identify which ship they sail. Every zu'aan child in the settlement is marked with the tentacled skull, which is the symbol of their god and the crest of Shakresaw’s personal vessel. This signifies that they are under her protection until they come of age and are then let to settle down, get married, aid with the inland trading, and have kids of their own.

They then present their children to the Shakresaw to receive her blessings and protection before the parents are then drained and turned and allowed to join one of the crews. The act of turning destroys the old branding mark and so signifies that the new kin'toni no longer requires the need for protect and is worthy of raiding and possibly dying for their clan and their god. However all crew and clan markings are hidden whenthey travel in land to trade. This is to protect the clan from being exposed as pirates.

Government

As designed and laid out by the clan’s founder and leader, Shakresaw, the Umana clan revolves around the profession of naval raiders and pirates. Originally she was the only captain in the clan and thus was in charge of maintaining order for every member. However, as the clan grew and got more ships and eventually their own port town, there became a need for more captains and a complete structure to oversee everything. Shakresaw was given the title of Queen of the pirates, and placed in charge of the entire clan with the other captains reporting directly to her in most general matters.

Amongst their own crews each captain runs their ship in their own way as long as they obey the commands of their queen and the laws of the code of conduct the clan abides by. The town is run by Shakresaw and the harbour master with the express goal of maintaining a thriving trade business to support their raids. Shakresaw controls the everyday life and civility of the clan members and uses many of her own crew to offer aid and protection the zu'aan members of their society. While the harbour master is in charge of the business and intercontinental politics side of their existence.

However everyone holds true to their code as it protects their way of life. The code’s first article is “The crew picks the heading.” This means that while the captain is in charge of the ship and it’s crew, they are chosen by the crew they control and may be replaced if the crew deems it necessary. The crew is also the ones who vote on where they go to raid and hunt. The second article of the code is “No turning of children, those with child, or the unwilling.” This means that when they capture zu'aan, they refuse to feed on children of pregnant women.

Instead, they will protect them and raise the kids in the clan. With every adult captured, and once those who were pregnant have their child, the Umana clan offers the zu'aan the choice to be turned or not. Those who were pregnant are allowed to refuse and leave with enough supplies and protection to last until they reach a zu'aan settlement. They also get a carved pendant that signifies they are not to be touched by any other raiders. The other adults are either turned willingly, or drained and killed and their bodies return to their home to be buried in their people’s customs.

The code’s third article is “Respect the right to surrender and survive.” If a target surrenders during a raid or hunt, the crew responsible must halt aggressive actions and conclude business in an amicable fashion. Some coastal settlements have learned from this and when they see the Umana approaching they surrender and offer the raiders the excess of their crops and supplies in exchange for peace and protection.This also extends to the crews marking settlements they raided previously so no other crew will target them for a year or so depending on how bloody the raid ended up being.

Military

As a clan of sailors and raiders, the Umana are experts at naval combat and under water fighting. They don’t have any experience at regular army to army combat. Instead they use raiding tactics and confined close combat and stealth when boarding other ships. With an ever expanding fleet of ships, the clan operates on a ship by ship basis with combat. they rarely sail more than one or two ships in the same exact direction. Each ship is outfitted with a ramming wedge in front and a few skinny longboats for raiding protected shorline villages and settlements.

Every crew member is trained in using the longbow and javelin for ranged combat between ships. as well as the use of fire when absolutely necessary. They commonly use nets, barbed tridents, and scimitars as their primary weapons of choice when boarding a ship, under water, or during a shore raid. In each instance they prefer to attack while they have the element of fear or surprise. Or if they are unable to rely on either in their first move, they will use their speed and strength to attack quickly and savagely with the hope that their targets will surrender or by unable to continue fighting.

Once they started being hunted by other coastal clans, they began using subterfuge and their aquatic natures to terrify or outsmart those hunting them. They will fight and kill any kin'toni who raises a weapon against them, but prefer to capture zu'aan alive. They especially work hard to prevent the death of any zu'aan children in the hopes that they can raise them to one day become full clan members. As such they do not hide their aquatic appearance when raidin zu'aan settlements in hopes of scaring them into surrender with as little bloodshed as possible.

If the settlement is facing illness or famine, the raiders will pose as if they are laying seige to the village and fight off any other ships nearby while they send food and medicinal herbs to the ailing settlement in exchange for the orphaned children. Their code and civil disposition towards those who surrender have led to them often fighting to defend coastal zu'aan settlements from kin'toni clans that will wipe them out and turn everyone. This has led to them having little to no good relationships with other kin'toni clans that reside along every coast of the continent.

While at the same time they are sometimes celebrated as protectors by zu'aan settlers who use their code of surrender to avoid bloodshed all together. If the Umana learn of other raiding clans sailing the seas, they send their most aggressive crews to hunt the rivals down. They will ofthen abandon their own ship to use as bait for the other raiders. Then they hook themselves to the hull of the enemy vessel and ride all the way back to the raiders’ settlement. As soon as the rival clan is asleep, the Umana will ransack the settlement, taking their ships and the zu'aan they find before setting fire to everything.

Religion

The Umana worship a being they believe sleeps in the deepest darkest most inaccessable part of the sea. They call this being Grevornag the Sunken One. They believe that in the “Time Before” the oceans enveloped the entire world and was ruled by the powerful but benevolent Grevornag who travelled in a giant floating temple. It was there that the first people lived and worshipped their mighty god, but as they multiplied they began being too many for the temple. The first people desired new lands to call their own and so fell prey to a mysterous Outsider.

This Outsider promised that there was land just hidden beneath the water that would be large enough for everyone, but to find it the would have to drain the ocean. Not realising the danger, the first people trusted the Outsider and asked how to accomplish such a feat. The Outsider said all they needed to do was give him half of the sacrifices and worship they gave to Grevornag. The benevolent god warned them that they did not understand the power of their actions nor the nature of the world, but his warnings went unheeded and the first people spent half a day worshipping and offering sacrifices to the Outsider.

This pleased the Outsider and he sent forth a giant shockwave that broke the sea bed in half. The ocean began to drain and the first people rejoiced as they began seeing new land appear. However, their joy turned to terror as the Outsider was joined by others of his kind and began attacking and devouring the first people. They tried to fight back but were no match for the Outsiders’ powers. They pleaded with Grevornag to save them and restore the world, but he said it was too late. Finally a little girl came to Grevornag and just asked for a place to hide from the Outsiders.

Taken aback by the simple request Grevornag decided to do the only thing that could stop the Outsiders. He put all the first people on the largest of the new lands and allowed himself to be open to attacks from the Outsiders. Greedy and vile, the Outsiders entered the floating temple to fight with Grevornag. But it was all a trap. Grevornag sunk his giant temple along with himself and the Outsiders until the temple was in the mouth of the split. Grevornag slew all but three of the Outsidersand used their bodies to fill the split. The last three he trapped with himself in the main chamber of the temple.

And turned the three into stone before falling into a deep sleep. As he fell asleep a mark of a tentacled skull appeared on the little girl who had given the simple request. The Umana believe that this is how the world became the way it is now and that if the mark is not passed on the Outsiders will return. So they mark the zu'aan children they take in, and offer sacrifices to Grevornag in hopes that the oceans will one day rise and envelop the world once again.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Umana Kin'toni Clan

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