Vytheri Kin'toni Clan

History

This clan has a rich history of dysfunction and violence despite their longtime loyalties. In the year 4E 63, a kin'toni of the name Auati Varii decided to abandon his home clan after decades of mistreatment and abuse to take several of his kin to the frigid ice plains of Kaylai. It was there that he discovered that not only could he withstand the cold, but he could also thrive in it as well when given the opportunity. And thus, alas, began his quest to build a clan of his own, which he henceforth named the Vytheri clan. By the year 4E 87, he had managed to turn nearly twenty-five hundred zu'aan.

This is into kin'toni, with nearly all of them surviving the transformation process. It was at this time that he and his kin began to train them on many key aspects, including the physical, emotional, mental, and psychological state. This, as a result, led Varii and the kin he brought with him on his voyage to Kaylai to form a royal family, which required a royal palace built out of stone blocks and cement. In the year 4E 87, Varii decided that he wanted to have children even though he was a kin'toni originally turned into another clan, so he went into the slopes.

That was on the outskirts of Kaylai and transformed a female zu'aan named Giola Aonis, who was an accomplished political leader at the time, into a kin'toni upon the discovery that she was single. Now, after many centuries of fighting, battles, dysfunction, loyalty, and seemingly unbearable cold, the Vytheri clan has grown into a renowned and feared clan of kin'toni, one of the most fearsome in all of Terael. In the Shattering, the Vytheri kin'toni Clan lost all but 200 of its numbers, for they fought lots of battles. They were driven south by a lack of food.

Started with an ice age that affected the north of Terael. Most battles were fought against the Galroda, Omquaen, and Kujami clans in the bloody battle called the Battle of the Nahre. The Vytheri, Galroda and Omquaen clans had a large battle in the Xrai Plains. The battle had killed off many kin'toni of all four clans that took part. Countless generations of Vytheriians have learned to thrive in the bitter cold and pledge their allegiance.

To the royal family of the Varii bloodline; however, after many battles won and some lost, the clan's population currently stands at close to one hundred, mainly because of a heatwave that nearly wiped out the Vytheri clan's population in around the year 4E 175.

Psychology

Vytheri kin'toni are cruel and savage, mainly because of a lack of compassion that spans many generations; however, their lack of compassion is made up for in their abundance of loyalty to the royal family of the Varii bloodline. They despise the warmth of other races, and out of survival necessity, they're often direct and confrontational. Most Vytheri kin'toni are not particularly vocal in social settings, often giving an air of distance rather than typical elven aloofness. According to zu'aan and some kin'toni, Vytheriians often associate themselves with abominable snow beasts known as ruanoes.

From whom they feed on now and then when hunger strikes. A Ruano's bite mark often heals up remarkably fast as it has many layers of polar bear-like skin. It is also suggested that Vytheriians have rather weak appetites and only feed on these snow beasts when they have to, which is generally once every three-and-a-half days. Most Vytheriians have a distorted mindset as they often wish to build weapons that take a great deal of time to make. Sometimes when they are upset or bored they will make these weapons in the comfort of their own stone home.

Sometimes spending entire durations of sunlight working on them. They work on these weapons because they have nothing much else better to do. In some cases, but rare cases they make these to let off steam. Despite their lack of compassion, it is not uncommon for a Vytheri kin'toni to have a lot of common sense and a moderate amount of intelligence. It is also generally suggested by both kin'toni and zu'aan alike that while Vytheri kin'toni is one of the most savage clans in the kin'toni'ati race, they do have a soft side. Most Vytheriians who have spouses often find comfort in their spouses.

Going as far as to come up with fun ways to pass the time with them when there is nothing better for them to do. As traits, this clan shows Conservatism, a personality trait associated with personal values emphasising tradition, duty, moral standards etc, Emotional superiority, the feeling that one is better than others. As a personality trait, it goes beyond self-esteem and is associated with grandiosity and narcissism. Loyalty, faithfulness or devotion to a person or cause. The tendency to consistent loyalty has been viewed as a personality trait associated with a range of social behaviour.

Perfectionism, a personality trait characterised by a persisting belief that perfection should be strived for. In its pathological form, it is an unhealthy belief that anything less than perfect is unacceptable.

Biology

The Vytheri are adapted to the very cold and wind-swept Shauren Iceplains. They are powerfully muscled, stocky and broad in build with short limbs. This is an adaption to minimizing surface area exposure and maximizing strength. The downside of this is being less able to climb and run then other clans. The skin is thick, white and with an thick layer of fat underneath. This fat allows them to withstand the cold of the ice-plains. Their hair is a thick coat of dense, doubled layered fur with an hollow-core structure in each hair strand that traps air.

The downside of these two adaptions are being prone to overheating in warmer environments. The eyes are pale blue in color, and have an oil-based tear film to cornea from freezing or becoming damaged by ice crystals and wind. In warmer climates, the tear film work as a foe as it blinds them. The ears are small, close to the head and heavily insulated with cartilage and dense tissue. The hair is adapted to sense shifts in barometric pressure. This allows them to accurately predict severe weather changes.

The nose has exceptionally long, convoluted passages lined with thick, moist tissue in their noses that act as heat exchangers to warm the air before it gets anywhere important. The sense of smell is enhanced in order to track scents that are trapped within or under ice and snow. The downside of this is that their sense of smell is much weaker in non-frozen air temperatures. There are adaptions so that they can hold their breath for a significantly longer duration than other kin'toni. This is an adaption to be able to burrow under the snow for shelter.

The teeth are flat, short and blocky and adapted to resist cracking and fracture from gnawing on hard materials. This is an adaption to feed on frozen prey and ice (for water intake) but this also makes drinking blood harder as the teeth are not sharp. The claws are hooked and long with an micro-serrated edge and curved shape for gripping on glacial ice and sheer ice walls. These claws are easy to dull by digging or hitting hard things. The knees and elbows contain pressure-sensitive cartilage for detecting crevasses beneath thin snow.

They also have large keratinous spines along their shins and forearms to aid climbing ice. These make clothing need to be custom made to fit and make wearing metal armor on the arms impossible. The feet have anti slip, dense, stiff fur that coats the soles of the feet and between the toes for traction on polished ice and snow. The arteries and veins in the limbs are adapted so that warm arterial blood can warm the cold venous blood returning to the core. The muscle fibers each have an extra layer of protein sheathing that retains heat generated by movement.

This allows their muscles to work well in the cold. The tissues have large amount of proteins that actively bind to and inhibit the growth of small ice crystals. The downside of this is an need for more protein rich blood. Alongside that, they have an high urea in their blood and tissues during the coldest periods to act as an osmolyte.

Culture

They've been known to consume humanoids and even other kin'toni for food. Only the royal family generally dares to consume other Vytheri kin'toni and does so as a show of power. The vast potential of earthen resources, such as gems and metals, often goes untapped in their territory. This occasionally leads to border intrusions by other races looking for resources to exploit. Incursions usually happen in the warmer months of summer on borderlands and don't go contested until autumn or winter. Vytheri kin'toni does not have many possessions.

This is as living in such foreboding lands affords them few resources. Their possessions are often very old, handed down for generations and kept in prime order. What items they do make are of exceptional craftsmanship and enduring quality. Whatever else they happen to own is typically gained by looting the bodies of slain foes. Vytheri kin'toni homes are often built out of stone blocks with natural stones piled around the outsides to gather ice and snow. This design allows small settlements to blend into the natural environment and avoid drawing attention.

Larger cities are almost always fortified garrisons with sheer icy walls and spike-filled gorges in place of moats. Their royal castles are often jagged palaces made of stone and ice. It is not unknown for royal palaces to be built into ancient glacial caves. Trespassers in Vytheri kin'toni lands are almost always attacked on sight, and those who surrender are questioned and imprisoned, where they often die of mistreatment within a short time. Vytheri kin'toni strip the corpses of those they kill, leaving their bodies out as both a warning and bait for scavenging beasts.

Bone pile markers in the snow serve as border markers for their territory and are often found near landmarks and natural lines of division, such as frozen rivers, rocky outcrops and glacial crevasses. Vytheri kin'toni also maintains large, rune-carved cairn stones to mark territory. These stones often have several languages written onto them and typically hold a message of "Vytheri kin'toni territory. Stay out." or another such warning. One holiday in this clan is, Ored is, a holiday celebrated just after the second crescent moon of winter. It is associated with a fall, anger and a surrender

Government

Vytheri kin'toni culture is maintained and unified by ruling families of inbred royalty. The royal family is a family bloodline whose "children" are turned, not born. The royal family of a territory presides over their country and enforces their strict borders and laws. All young Vytheri kin'toni, once they come of age, are obligated by law to pledge themselves into servitude to the royal family. The royals choose what duty the young Vytheri kin'toni is to fulfil and when that duty is released. Typically, a few years to a decade of service is common wherein the servant serves as an apprentice or guard.

This is within the palace, gaining necessary training. This servitude also ingrains a fear of the royal family, allowing for continued peace through oppression. A common reason for this oppressive peace has to do with the fact that most young Vytheri kin'toni is not given much of a circle of control upon starting, even as their circle of control grows over time. The Varii Bloodline, which rules over this clan, is located inside a mountain near the epicentre of the ice plains of Kaylai. The insides of this particular mountain are often referred to as the Cave or Chamber of Control.

Serves as the Varii Bloodline's home as it houses them and a population ranging from close to 100 to more than 150 kin'toni (That's a really large cave!); however, this cave is located near the bottom of this mountain, which is often known as Muntloxi, or Mount Zlox. The Royals in this dynasty are often chosen by way of their seniority, wisdom, experience, loyalty, knowledge, and way of life. As a result, everyone in the royal family will be given a chance to vote between several candidates, both of which had previously served the Royal Family in their youth.

After a show of hands is given on who will be chosen to serve on the Royal Council, the candidate with the most votes will be chosen for the council while the other is granted membership into the Varii Bloodline and re-enrolled as a senior member. So, in other words, there are no losers. Three of the clan's (rather harsh) laws are: The penalty for a juvenile attempting bribery is a considerable term of servitude, the penalty for a guard robbing a nobleman is a flogging, and the penalty for a member of a lower class assaulting an adept is a considerable term of servitude.

Military

Unlike most of the clans in the kin'toni'ati race, there is only one branch in this military, which is often referred to as the Order of the Varii Bloodline. Anyone that enrols in this clan's military must do so when he or she comes of age. This includes some recently-transformed kin'toni, kin'toni who experience a peak in growth and, and any Vytheri clan kin'toni that reaches "adulthood", which is a diffident thing to kin'toni than zu'aan. In this clan, kin'toni reaches "adulthood" at 100 years old. All of those who are part of this clan's military is led and directed by the Kazyubunu.

This is the Varii Bloodline's chief strategist and military expert. The Kazyubunu oversees all military activity in this clan and meets with the other leaders in the Varii Bloodline to come up with an agreement on which groups of the Order does what, when they do it, and how. If they cannot come up with something for the militants to do they will generally have them do a series of ancient exercise rituals. There are many risks and rewards in being a member of the Order of the Varii Bloodline. Firstly, one of the risks involves the constant monitoring of nightly activities by the Kazyubunu.

Ehich in some cases can be very invasive to one's privacy but necessary at the same time; however, a reward in the Order usually means getting a promotion in rank, which usually means a slight and minimal increase in responsibility and, if enough promotions are obtained, one can see themselves leading clan military activities. Finally, there is a three-strike rule that all must adhere to when in Order. If one is supposedly caught committing either a major or minor offence in the presence of the Kazyubunu, they will be given a strike.

The key difference between major and minor offences is that minor offence strikes can be rescinded if the offender can do a series of good deeds, while major offence strikes cannot be removed. In other words, if at any point a kin'toni in this clan gets three strikes, they will be removed from this clan's military, but will still be able to live as a member of this clan. Each legion contains 10 squadrons of 60 soldiers. They are famous for their refusal to accept surrenders, impressing peasants into their ranks, violating treaties and for general lawlessness.

Religion

kin'toni in this clan worship a mythical beast that dwells in a mountain cave. This mythical beast, commonly known in Vampyrian senses as an Azquarf, is supposedly a beast that speaks in a tongue that dates back to prehistoric Terael. The Azquarf, which is revered as a symbol of hope and victory and perseverance, can be seen on display as a large statue in a museum cave somewhere on the outskirts of Kaylai. Asquarves (plural term) were suggested to be the first large creatures of Terael. Supposedly going extinct between the year 4E 2100 and 4E 2125, due to zu'aan hunting.

Their ancestors, the Gazplua, roamed Terael before being hunted to extinction by the earliest zu'aan hunters. Congregational gatherings occur in a large cave at the bottom of a mountain called Weuk, just a few miles from the mountain that houses the Varii Bloodline. It is estimated that about as much as half of this clan gathers here. From afar once every several months to praise, worship, and learn about their beastly ancestors from prehistory. After about a good hour of worship and learning, an ancient prayer is spoken to dismiss the crowd as everyone spends the next several months.

Hunting and gathering other large animals that pose a threat to their existence. A spiritual guide in the Varii Bloodline often referred to as a Religious Advisor (Chumazquano in Nifalfkin) can be seen sharing his ideas with several leaders and also serves as a minor influence on the legislative and judicial decisions made by the leaders of the Varii Bloodline. These decisions not only impact the religious beliefs of the Vytheri clan, but it impacts their spirituality and emotional state as well. The symbol of their religion is very abstract and is within a geometric shape.

Their holy colour is bronze and their religion is passed Down via a strong oral tradition with some writings. Their creation myth type is the emergence and the origin of mortals' is from divine bones. A major myth and its symbols are the ascensions, the well/spring. The Deadly Sins are blasphemy and neglect and there are no High Virtues. The associated art form is painting and murals. The coming of age is at 110 years old and the coming of age rite involves personal meditation. Marriages are used to forge political ties and marriage rites are somewhat informal. Death Rites are performed only for nobles.

Miscellany

Auati Varii, the founder of this clan, originally belonged to the Falyir clan, but he left that clan on account of him experiencing mistreatment by everyone, even some of his own. The only real supporters he had was his brother, Yunari, his sister, Quinali, and his older cousin, Folati. His mother and father considered him to be the family outcast, although some of his aforementioned family members disagreed with that and were dealt with subsequent punishments for supporting Auati. Auati was known as one of the oldest kin'toni in kin'toni'ati history, having been turned in the year 4E 59.

He died of injuries after centuries of activity caught up with him, causing him to end up as a quadriplegic in the year 4E 92 after a freak accident scarred him for the rest of his life. He was declared brain dead by local clan healers in the year 4E 92, but his official date of death was just a year after that. Some estimate he could have lived a few more years had that freak accident never happened. There is thought to be a life-sized clear crystal figurine of Auati Varii that shines bright somewhere deep in the cave that houses the Varii Bloodline. It is unknown if it is true.

It is said to be guarded by a few hand-selected Vytheriians who are members of the Order of the Varii Bloodline. Although four other groups of Vytheri militants rotate shifts with these few hand-selected militants each night in the dark. If a guard or guards see that the figurine is (in the process of) being stolen, they must find a way to get it back at any cost. Sometimes in an attempt to relieve stress, a Vytheriian will occasionally jog in place for extended periods until a fellow Vytheriian finds him or her something to do.

On rare occasions they will sometimes switch from a jog to a sprint while in place, but as just mentioned this only occurs when a Vytheriian has nothing better to do or is bored. This has extremely incredible benefits, however, as it allows them to get good exercise and live up to three centuries longer than normal for kin'toni. kin'toni can not die of old age, but there are still benefits to this on their physical health. The written language has characters that are formed with lines and sharp angles in a detailed style. They represent concepts.

Quite a few of the characters are very close to another culture's writing system. The clan's banner with thirteen stripes of vibrant blue, dark gold, forest green, azure, light grey, blue-black, burnt orange, pale brown, bright green, umber, yellow-orange, dark red-violet, and blue-violet. Two holidays are Isaenual, a joyful religious holiday celebrated on the first full moon of autumn. It is associated with hatred, an act of kindness and confusion. Celebrations last from dawn till dusk. Traditions include private dancing, sacrifices and prayers.

Many groups celebrate it differently and Fokin, a holiday celebrated on the third full moon of spring. It is associated with banishment and a certain historical figure. Celebrations last nine days from dusk till dawn. Traditions include private declarations of intent, airing of grievances and races. It is associated with luck, a purchase and confusion.

Nearby Groups

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Vytheri Kin'toni Clan

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