Hatar

Hatar

History

The Hatar tribes originally lived along the Wellspring River, but were forced out during the Ironwater War. As they started moving south, Eril (khan of the Sarma tribe) contacted the leaders of the other exiled tribes. After a long series of negotiating, they agreed to work together as one, creating the federation. And Eril was chosen to become their first Great Khan, the leader of the unified army. As they moved north, they came into contact with the ancient Dwarven kingdom of Dharzad.

It is now unknown which side attacked first, but a brutal, century long war was started between the two. It ended with the federation completely subjugating the Dharzadians. Killing off their royal family and making slaves of their people. As their territory grew, they had constant conflict with the Dharzad nation, leading to many raids whenever supplies ran low. This practice was ended about fifty years ago, when the Great Khan of the time signed a treaty with Dharzad. The federation promised to stop their raids, their attempts at conquest and free their slaves, in return for a monthly gift of supplies. The Hatar dominate their land and are protected from outsiders by the sea and vigilant scouts.

Geography

Hatar is almost exclusively flat grassland, with the occasional hill or pine tree.

Climate Hatar has a continental moderate climate which dominates the plains. It is cold and dry in winter while being rather hot and rainy in the summer. There are frequent storms and the transition of seasons is short. The hypercontinental climate has short summers and dry and very cold winters. Due to its lack of natural wind deflection, it commonly suffers from violent tornadoes and storms, hence its title 'the land of winds'.

The Northern area receives heavy snowfall during the long winters and the buffalo and bison herds move here to eat the heather and shrubs on the mountains edges and as such the tribes follow suit as the southern part is left barren as the plains wait the cycle of renewal in springs thaw. The spring begins a flurry of new growth and game which the Hatarian women utilize to the fullest preserving as much as they can for the harsh winters that lie ahead while the men prepare for calving season during the spring solstice. Summer brings about a time of constant travel as the herds graze from place to place and on summers eve the tribes settle the herd and the grand festival begins outside the stoop as the tribes celebrate the years fortunes and remember their revered ancestors. It consists of a week of games, including wrestling, horse riding and archery. Autumn brings a flurry of activity as the herds began to strip the land of all edible green vegetation. This food is stockpiled and the menfolk set-up their vigil on their animals. At this time of year, more unscrupulous tribe members are revealed: thieves and others who did not take the time to prepare. Anyone found guilty of stealing from a stockpile or herd is given the harshest punishment possible. Their back is broken and they are left to die of exposure.

Flora and Fauna

There are common plants found throughout Hatar with a few notable native species.

Tyi-mi Root: While not a root in the true sense of the word, it is a purple Lichen creeper that is found near copper-rich areas and is extremely useful to magic users. Its consumption after manipulating magic can help relieve residual pain and fatigue from the mental effort. It is quite rare and extremely difficult to find, however certain creatures like the Nullri have a knack for finding it.

Tempestas Flower: A delicate violet flowering parasitic plant found in the boughs of trees, tempestas can be used to treat burns by applying the petals to the area and letting it sit overnight. It has the extra benefit of being a powerful antiseptic. A tempestas poultice applied to wounds or burns will usually prevent infection. Its stems and roots can be boiled in to a tea that can help a patient sleep and may ease headaches or migraines.

There are many common animals to be found in Hatar. The most notable are the herds of migrating bison and wild horses. There are also many other mammals: fierce wolves, frost fang bears, and rarely-seen mammoths. Trappers may find rabbits, stoats, weasels and minks. There is also a great variety of birds, many of which are hunted. Ducks and wild geese are the most common. There are a few animals worthy of mention that seem to possess elements of magic. The Hatarians regard these creatures with suspicion and in some cases justly so as they make the transition from animal to monster

Clathui: A terrible creature borne of nightmares, that emerges from the shorelines that link with the wastes. A 30-foot-long crustacean with four massive pincers and beak-like face that cut through steel like it was butter the creature has eyes mounted on the top of retractable stalks. It can live on land with no repercussions and is ruthless in its pursuit of prey. It will tear apart anything for a meal and has no fear of men nor fire. They are thankfully rare but dangerous enough that a reasonably large force is needed to destroy or drive them off. Worse still, the clathui has the ability to emit a magical barrier for a short period of time. Coupled with its tough exoskeleton, this makes it hard to injure. It has been noted that while the barrier is in effect the creature must retract its eye stalks, leaving it virtually blind. Armor made from the clathui chitin are extremely valuable.

Lynerox: A beautiful snow wolf-like creature with two heads, noble and elegant and said to possess a degree of wisdom such that no hunter has ever slain one. It is a creature of myth that appears to assist females of guile and wisdom. It is also said to be able turn completely invisible, that its bite is poisonous, and that it may help guide lost children home. However, many of these descriptions are myth more than fact: no confirmed sightings of a lynerox have been recorded.

Destrider: A horse-like creature with muscle like steel, a mane of lightning and a temperament of rage with hoof beats that echo like thunder across the plains. Old Hatarians insist that the thunder heard during storms is the Destrider riding savagely across the sky to confront a great evil entering the land of wind. Its appearance is a sign that ill fortune and dangerous events are about to occur.

Other intelligent races who inhabit Hatar include the following:

The Dar: (see their entry in the character creation thread)

Nullri: (see their entry in the character creation thread)

Religion

Shamanism is the principal religion in Hatar, it usually involves the shaman reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit ancestors and paragons through the five great animals, the bison, the dragon, the snake, the horse and the eagle. the shaman is regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.

Shamans are normally "called" by dreams or signs which call out to them during a choosing ceremony. The shaman must become sick to understand sickness. When the shaman overcomes her or his own sickness, he will hold the cure to heal all that suffer. This is the uncanny mark of the Hatarian shaman, who take on wounds and illness from those they heal and increase their healing ability.

The shaman's social role is usually defined by the obligations, actions and responsibilities expected of them within their clan and tribe.

Shamans have dreams or visions that tell them certain things. The shaman may have or acquire an ancestor spirit guides or a paragon spirit, who often guide and direct the shaman in his/her travels in the spirit world. These spirit guides are always present within the shaman though others only encounter them through the shamans interpretations. Often tribal leaders come to them seeking wisdom about whether or not to take a course of action.

The functions of a shaman may include either guiding to their proper abode the souls of the dead, and/or curing (healing) of ailments. The ailments may be either purely physical afflictions—such as disease, or cursed spirits of those who died with shame or traumatic circumstances which may be cured by gifting, flattering, threatening, or wrestling the disease-spirit, or else mental afflictions—such as persistent terror, in which cause the shaman adds a piece of the serenity of the guiding ancestors to the subjects soul.

The Wuwan tribe bear special mention of their spiritual connection with birds and the ability for their spirit to leave their body and travel inside that of a birds.

Myths and Legends

Kilagmeshi

Kilagmeshi is a creature of history that lives beneath the plains far below in caverns best left uexplorered. He is a terrible creature that can wear many physical forms but cannot take that of a full man. His preferred shape resembles a giant centipede with the head of a man walking upright on multiple chitinous legs. He is said to the spirit of a cursed shaman who abandoned his tribe in a time of need and the ancestors cursed him with his new appearence, shunned and beaten, he retreated underground to lay in wait and plan his revenge upon those who wronged him so and thir decendants.

He has found worshippers in other outcasts, raiders, trolls, exiled tribesman and the Dar. He is said to live in a lair of skulls of those he has slain or had tortured to death. He has developed of the centuries a lust for torture. Any creature held captive by him is in for excrutating pain, followed by being eaten.

His lair is known as the Manflayers Teeth. Five towering stalagmites stand as the parapets of Manflayers Teeth. He instructed his charges to fortify this place and make it fit for his worship's followers watch from these posts, ready to drag any wanderers into the place. Four of its walls are built from piles of bone heaped between the stalagmites, and they grow ever higher with each new victim. The last, narrowest space is the only entrance. Long barbed chains span the gap between the stalagmites here, and victims are often displayed here. It was formed when Kilagmeshi wrenched the earth up from a cavern using his developed dark powers, forming five fanglike stalagmites hundreds of feet tall. Here he sits plotting and drinking in the agonies of anyone fooolish enough to stray near his domain.

The Lost City of Kuo-Toan-Li

A sad old tale told by the ancient among the Hatarian tribesfolk, it tells of an ambitious and reckless young tribal chief named Ral-uot. Unhappy that his clan was largely ignored in the larger system of power, he took his people from the plains and out onto the sea to find a new place to live, where he could rule as a new Khan. They sailed for many moons and found a beautiful island, empty and not far from the shared shores of the Wastes and the plains. It was abundant with food and fresh water. Ral-uot declared this place Kuo-Toan-li and a city would be built there. The new settlers worked hard and then by chance they discovered rich veins of gold. They opened mines and worked day and night hauling it up to the surface. However bit by bit they were changed, the gold changed them no matter how much each person had they craved more. Soon arguments became conflicts and one night brother slew brother even the children were not safe. As day broke it became clear how far things had gone and the people who brokenhearted and wept for their greed and foolishness and approached Ral-uot.

Ral-uot looked upon them with disgust and said "I have spoken with the island and it has told me that we have taken treasure that didn't belong to us, however we may trade for it. Blood for gold." And with that a madness overtook him and he slew many of his tribesmen with the help of those loyal to him, only one boy escaped named Hal-chi by drifting back to land on a piece of timber. The boy was found by tribal fishermen and told his tale of the cursed place and Ral-uot's brutality.

The senate agreed to hunt them down and slay them all but once they set sail, they could not find the island even with Hal-chi's help. They thought at first the boy was mad, however an elder shaman looked into the boy's spirit and found no lies there and felt a great presence of evil upon this part of the ocean. The elder shaman said that Ral-uot and his lot had descended to their new master's home at the bottom of the sea.

Over the years there have been reports of an island appearing and disappearing all over that part of the ocean but none have stood upon its shores and shared their tale.

The Ruinous Staff

The Ruinous staff is an ancient object of immense power. Its history is well known and many treasure seekers have spent their lives looking for it. Whether it is real or not cannot be confirmed but all Hatarians know its tale.

It was created by a great and powerful Shin Qi shaman known only in the tale as Old Saw-Scale due to abundance of saw edged scales upon his body as a result of his powerful magical abilities. However for all his knowledge and latent power, physically his body was wracked with pain, and he had bone deformations in his hips since birth which made walking excrutiating, and as he grew older, these debilitating effects grew worse and worse.

Old Saw-Scale panicked more and more with every day, soon all his accumulated knowledge and power would be laid low by illness and age. He couldn't accept this at all and grew hardened and resentful. He resolved to create a new from for himself, he would use his shamaic abilities to create a new body for himself one that would last and never perish.

He created a staff to pour his mind and powers into and then transfer them into a new body he had created from steel and stone, despite this being against all his training and beliefs. At last he began to preform the the ritual and he left his own body which was stripped of flesh and all that remained was a skeleton however the ritual didn't go correctly and he could not enter his new body. Secretly his own apprentice had realized what his master was doing and resloved to stop and had placed a binding spell on the newly contrusted form that prevented Old Saw-Scale form entering it.

Stricken with fear and beginning to fade away Old Saw-Scale was forced back into his old body. He had become an undead monstrousity, animated bones with the bright orange orbs glistening for eyes. Whatever humaity he had abandoned him and he became a scourge of fury upon the tribesfolk untill he was laid low by the great khan of the era himself, his body ground into dust. All that remained was his staff which contained a great portion of his maligant presence and power. The staff could not be destroyed so the senate decided to lock it away safe in the vaults of the Stoop. There is remained until a strange blue fire broke out and in the resulting confusion the staff was considered lost or stolen.

Many have tried to peice together its whereabouts some say it was swallowed by a Clathui or spawned their kind, others say it lies the lair of a great wyrm and still others say it was taken from Hatar all together. It has allegedly shown up in the hands of various folk but none of these incidents have proven factual. Whatever the case may be it will stop folk from searching for an artifact of power like the Ruinous Staff.

Setrous the Soul-Swallower

Setrous the soul-swallower is to the Hatarian the antithesis of everything good, true and just. She is the ultimate force of evil in the plains and evil spirits do her beckoning as well as more substanial foes. She appears a haggard old woman floating in the air with many taloned hands bursting forth and several other hands float about her ready to climb into the hearts of men and freeze them solid or to bend them to her will.

She is a greedy ambitious creature who covets control of the plains and is ruthless in pursuit of that goal. She can grant men wishes but they are so tainted that the reciepent is forced to kill himself or undergo unbelievable hardships to break these contracts. She is chamring, misleading and utterly untrustworthy even to those she favors.

She is said to come on moonless nights and feed upon children in their dreams and shamans are more vigilant on those nights. She cannot be harmed directly ethier by weapons or magic unless they are of worldshaking power and enormity, however she cannot abide light of any kind and this can be used to drive her off. She cannot also enter circles made of concescrated salt mixed with garlic or sulphur. She also may not enter holy ground where the honored are buried and those being pursued by her find refuge amongst barrows and tombs of there ancestors.

It is said that she was a witch cursed by the gods and her own kin, for some unrecorded terrible deed to wander the world as she is, others say she has been around since time forgotten. Since nobody has been stupid or brave enough to approach her only specualtion about her nature exist.

Government

Each of the five tribes (Roxolani, Sarma, Saka, Shin Qi and Wuwan) have a khan that rules the tribe. Whenever a khan dies or retires, a new one is voted on by the people of that tribe. The khan is responsible for governing the tribe and leading its militia. He is also the one that selects who will represent the tribe in the senate.

The senate oversees most of the domestic affairs, decides on tax rates and mediates intertribal disputes. They also are the ones to pick the new Great Khan, who’ll be seen as the leader of the whole federation.

The Great Khan is the warlord of the federation. He leads her armies and dictates diplomacy. As a symbol of his status, each Great Khan is tattooed with the symbol of each tribe, to show that he speaks for the entire federation.

Culture

The Hatar tribes are very much a nomadic people, following the grazing of bison as they wind their way across the plains on their yearly cycle. As their are nomads they dwell in their tents called yurts and they have no examples of architecture as such with the exception of the Great Khan's stoop.

The stoop is arrangement of granite monoliths in concentric rings each with a wooden beam wall joining the rings, with the centre is off centre leaning forward and this the seat of the current great khan and the senate. The great khan's throne sits on the forward leaning section so he is lower than the five senate members as reminder of his elected position. It also serves as a reminder that the great khan serves all the tribes and not just the one he was born into. Great Khan Serix Elrin currently sits in the throne of the stoop, facing the five seats of the senate in a stone chamber adorned in the animal symbols of the five tribes.

The stoop was built with the slave labour attained during the Samnite war and as such has weather the years well but to those not of the tribes, it seems a cave of serpent fanged wolves.

In the other rings, tradesmen ply their wares and the Federal Guard inhabit the ring around the senate chambers as a last line of defence if all else fails to deter an enemy attack. The rings are relatively quite except on occasions of grand importance and have purpose built lodges for visiting tribal chieftains and shamans and foreign dignitaries.

They also contain the slave pits for anyone to be caught breaking Hatarian laws, any man or woman found guilty can wind up here regardless of origin or position and it usually amounts to a death sentence albeit a slow one and the judicial system has no allowance for appeal. The judgement is generally made by a shaman of a tribe but in some cases it can go as high as a senate member. Such was the notable case of Galci Ilut a high ranking warmaster who was found guilty of corruption and spent his remaining days slopping out the pigs in chains.

The Hatar have a strong raiding culture, and it still is predominant today while the Samnite war has ended anything unaligned with the the tribes is considered fair game and foreign diplomats are escorted from the border by federal guard to avoid unfortunate accidents.

Lifestyle

Men and women fulfil separate roles in Hatarian society, The women are responsible for rearing the female children and maintaining the yurts and supply and food preparation. The men are responsible for the cattle, goats, sheep or pigs and horses and rearing the male children in the arts of war and animal husbandry as well as tracking skills.

Any boy whose has no other living adult male relatives is given to that clan/tribes chief as "Нaр үr". The boy is then trained all of his life for the arts of war and to eventually join the federal guard, foregoing all thoughts of family life and is even given a new name and upon this event is draped with the finest swords throughout the world known as Chai-haptyr-dee these swords and engraved with the oaths of loyalty to the tribes and bearers blood is extracted for use while forging and so a magic is laid upon each that no enemy of the tribes can use them.

Dancing and wrester and trick horse riding are common pastimes and women exclusively play a ring toss game that involves gambling upon how many rings it take each plaer to score a predetermined number of points on numbered posts.

Relationships

Marriage is determined by the head of each family line be it male or female and arranged marriage is commonplace. The Hatarians practice polygamy and when a husband finds himself with a wife past childbearing years, with her express consent she may allow him to take another wife. The wives and daughters live in their own yurts with boys of age who cannot walk after that the boys are taken to live with the men. Courtship is often done out of sight of others as is deemed proper and traditional. If a marriage between different tribes takes place, the groom then joins his brides tribe as their offspring are seen as sacred to the brides tribe. Divorce is extremely uncommon as is spousal abuse any man seen striking a spouse or daughter is likely to decapitated swiftly by the other men and his now ex-wife is allowed to choose a new partner and whether her former husbands offspring are to kept or thrown out into the wastes. Divorce is only granted in extreme cases and each is judged individually by the shaman of each clan and him alone. There are no precedents set in law in this unlikely event. These practices have not deviated since the tribes founding and any deviation from them can taken as a criminal offence.

Arts of War

All Hatarian males older than 10 carry a scimitar or falchion at all times and expected to go to bed with it, if the need arises, each one is drilled thoroughly in its use and is a great shame to return from combat without it. It is the perfect hand to hand weapon to strike from horseback. they also are drilled in the construction and use of composite shortbows.

The bow core is wooden, with horn on the belly (facing towards the archer) and sinew on the back, bound together with animal glue. As animal glue is dissolved by water, composite bows may be ruined by rain or excess humidity; a wrapper of (waterproof) birch bark may give limited protection from moisture and from mechanical damage. The bow is usually stored in a leather case for protection when not in use. These bows have heavy killing bow and surprisingly long range for their size The principal difference between the Hatarian bow and other composite bows is the presence of a "string run" - an attachment of horn, leather, or wood used to hold the string a little further apart from the bow's limbs at the base of the stiffened end. This attachment aids the archer by increasing the draw weight in the early stages of the draw, thus slightly increasing the total energy stored by the draw. This along with specialised hardened and barbed arrow heads means these arrows are capable of piercing mail and occasionally plate armor ( in this circumstance only tips of the barbs found their way through and proved to be deadly due the toxin coated tips)

The Hatarians are also known to poison their scimitars and curved knives from time to time. These poisons are extracted from the xi-chill serpent, a creature that looks like a snake but if fact is a type of large water worom that can be found living in the depths of ponds with a high sulphate content near the mountains surround Hatar, the creature is harmless unless eaten and Hatarian women often go out to forage for them when times of battle grow near, the worms are simply boiled down to their base constituents and the arrow heads are glazed in the now concentrated toxin.

A poisoned individual will experience extreme dizziness and nausea then an outbreak of pus filled boils and purple itching rash before going a coma and then death will follow swiftly. The poison can be treated and cured, and wounds to the limbs can be cleaned out before the poison takes full effect however, if the throat or lungs are exposed to it then the reaction very fast with the windpipe bursting into blood filled boils or the lungs collapsing and death is immediate. The Hatarian women use special cast iron pots with a single round cork like entrance with animal sinew tube attached to release the gas into a container of water and then fire is then lit while the women all then retreat to a safe distance to keep watch and do some small tasks like sewing.

The Five Tribes

Sarma, Might of the Dragon

The Sarma tribe are the most ferocious of the five tribes, uncompromising and ruthless they are a force of martial strength with their khan able call upon thousands of battle hardened and disciplined warriors. Various warrior sects exist inside them with each family paying to have a male child trained in the particular sect adopted by their ancestors.

The Dragon to them is a creature of dominance in will and strength and they strive to display its indomitable will and unyielding strength in their daily lives, taking great pains to preform even the smallest task to their best.

And as their ancestors followed the dragon so did their paragons which reflects in the nature of their abilities. Their most powerful warriors can crush boulders with their hands, preform displays of unimaginable strength and stand up to the most debilitating effects on the mind. They have no time for subtly and as a point of pride they believe any challenge can be met with overwhelming force if needs be.

The Cult of the Eternal Fist

On rare occasions an individual might find himself more and more spiritually drawn to the dragon and focus on it to the exclusion of all else, these individuals begin to show signs, small patches of scale and an increase in muscle mass, they voice carries terrible power and they become prideful.

Before they lose control of themselves they are approached by the Exarch of the Eternal Fist, who takes them away into secrecy and they are inducted into the cult and begin to control and fully manifest their powers. This cult and those of the other tribes are not considered as Hatarians and not subject to the law of the tribes. Instead they now answer to their paragons directly in a way beyond that of a shaman. Each becoming a manifestation of their draconic ancestry. The cults motives are secretive but they are true to the plains in all things and truly terrible when their hand is forced.

Saka, the Thunder of Hooves

The Saka are the most skilled horsemen of the tribes, each member owning their own mount and caring for it as if it were an equal or sibling. In fact the Saka feel such a strong bond with horses that even a few of their revered ancestors were actual mounts.

The horse exemplifies traits such as speed and the herd, and there is no greater joy to a Saka warrior like riding down any enemy force scimitar flashing with his close friends and fellow warriors then turning and barrelling away before the enemy can retaliate, hooting and howling all the way before a sharp turn for another pass. The Saka favour fluid moving combat and do not like prolong standing battles where they cannot use their speed. Their Khan can call upon a massive cavalry unit at ay moment and the Saka will answer en-masse. The Saka have a fanatically harted of the Dar and the feeling is mutual and the bloodiest battles ensue when both sides take the field.

The Cult of Reaving Hooves

A warrior cult predominately, it consists of warriors who never leave the saddle whose way of life has spiritually fused man and horse for war. These are the Reaving hooves, the most deadly horsemen in Hatar. The dress in black attire and armour and so do their horses. Armed with scimitars that have been weighted at tip of the blade for increased damage, the ride down enemies, dismembering them with deadly slashes. They never ride alone and always travel as a herd, they do not interact with other tribe members instead they spent their time watching out for the herds of wild horses. They are lead by a warmaster who searches out likely candidates from the tribes, and takes them away to join the cult as to what the cult teachings are known can say as the cult members refrain from speech and only the warmaster speaks to his khan and to new recruits in public.

They have demonstrated on rare occasion a unique magic spell, summoning magical riders to join them on the charge to deliver it as a blistering charge that scorches the earth and connects with enough force and momentum to split the earth itself.

Shin Qi, the Coiling Serpent

Shin Qi revere the serpent whose qualities of subtly and patience and as such are more restrained, and more refined then the other tribes however in terms of personality they are introvert rather than extrovert. They are the masters of subtlety and are profoundly wise. They consider each course of action carefully and only when the time is right do they act. This rings true whether diplomacy, business or combat. As such their senate member is often held in the highest esteem by all the tribes "and when the snake finally speaks all will hear him" as the saying goes.

The Shin Qi's warriors are more tactically flexible than the other tribes learning each aspect carefully but not mastering it as thoroughly, they real use comes in when a situation changes for good or ill, the Shin Qi react faster and give the others time to adapt. The Shin Qi also produce a great number of scholars who record the tribes tales and history's and produce a number of writings themselves.

The Cult of Serpents Eye

This cult is quite different from the other cults as it has no military leanings. Its members are often old scholars whose wisdom and knowledge are legendary. They can be compared to arch-mages from other races, such is their knowledge and mastery over magic. Each of them has the eye of a serpent and can see the cause and effect of any situation so the legends say. In fact they secretly pray to Tlaloquetzal.

Wuwan, the Gazing Eagle

The Wuwan revere the eagle, its freedom of movement, its form aloft on the wind in which to gaze the plains in their full majesty. The Wuwan are a free spirited people, they are constantly on the move, roaming for miles weaving across the plains. They are master archers, the most skilled in all Hatar seeing the similarity between and the swooping dive from distance upon its prey, a perfect strike from distance unseen and entirely fatal. The tribe has a great deal of latent talent as austringers, breed and training birds of prey and even messenger pigeons but it is the young females that deal with them.

Their manifestation of magic is often quite diverse unlike the other tribes, the most common however is the manipulation of wind from increasing the impact of an arrow to even small bursts of pseudo-flight. Their khan has often line after line of mounted archers and potent magic users, and the tribe produces the most powerful shaman. As such many lesser chiefs and fellow shamans often seek counsel with their elders.

The Cult of the Aerie Speakers

Some of the tribes folk predominantly the women show a connection to predatory birds far deeper then trainer and pet, it is a spiritual connection and they can tap into the birds mind and see what the bird sees, this makes them invaluable as scouts and if the occasion demands it spies. This gift comes with a cost as the line between bird and master blurs, the Hatarian in question will find their body becomes more birdlike stiff feathers grow amongst their cranial hair,and movement becomes flitting and sudden while their nails harden and grow slight points.

Roxolani, the Sturdy Bison

The Roxolani revere the bison as a sturdy, resolute, hard working and dependable animal. They emphasize these traits to their children, and as such become reliable and fair people. These qualities produce natural leaders and quite often the Roxolani act as neutral judges in tribal disputes. They are held with the uttermost respect for the most part and do not take to battle as readily as some of the more gung-ho tribes. However this isn't a weakness as such while they have a great number of capable warriors, their skills as diplomats can reveal more about an enemies psyche they the enemy would like.

They are a tough but fair people for the most part and are currently trying to come to a satisfactory arrangement with the Dar sending diplomatic envoys to Vark Swiftwind, Chieftan of the Kom’har tribe to end the years of extremely violent clashes between the two sides, despite the strong objections of Saka. The Roxolani are the least likely tribe to produce arcane users and it is very rare indeed for anyone outside the individual clan shamans to have any magical power at all.

The Cult of the Lone Buffalo

In every herd or tribe there are individuals who not wish or possess the skills to fit in. these individuals often band together into a tightly knit if unstable collective and in the case of the Roxolani it is the cult of the Lone Buffalo. The cult is made up of those seeking to differentiate themselves with power or knowledge but willing to take any short cut or preform what deed is required as a result they are considered as outlaws and renegades with as much a sense of honour as a Rathyan tradesman. This is the case in most circumstances and a few malcontent's from other tribes can be found mixed amongst them, however a few will ride to war along with the rest of the Hatarians and often their unique skills are put to use for good this way.

Groups/Societies

Federal Guard: These are the soldiers picked to be the Great Khan’s personal battalion. They are the best of the best and are adorned with a tattoo of each tribal symbol, like the Great Khan.