Friday, October 26, 2012

Geis Basics: Timeline - The Age of Dreams: Tribes

With the delicate balance of the world established, the Age of Dreams began.  This was a period of magical and psychic expansion.  The state of the world remained balanced.  On Lothgar, the kingdoms of Dogol, Bel`Aq, Beltizhan, Kailang and Caeron were the longest-standing.  On Mologan, the seven kingdoms to the south and east united in an empire known as the Southern Kingdoms ruled over by the High King who was elected by the Royal Council consisting of the Kings of each of the kingdoms.  On Anterre, the Emporer Kroll ruled with an iron fist.  The Chaos Current continued to rage in the Moralay Archipelago.  Puntas, long hidden by the Myst, has been all but forgotten as has the moon.

During this time, many organizations and societies have risen to prominence.  The most ancient and secretive of these are the Wanderers.  The most learned of sages are unsure exactly of the origins of this group.  They operate always in the shadows, behind the scenes.  They are organized into Lodges, each run by a Huntsmaster.  It is known that they have carried different names throughout history but most agree the oldest of these names, likely the original name, is the Wardens.  Although what it is or was that they are warding against is lost to the sands of time.  They are not strictly a tribe, but certain families are prominent although even the most learned of sages are uncertain to what degree.  It is believed that the very highest strata of the organization is controlled by the descendants of the original Wardens so they are often considered a tribe of sorts.

The Jiorti live on the island of Jiorta.  Although they maintain a tribal structure, they are largely recognized as among the oldest of societies and among the most powerful.  They were instrumental in freeing the people from the oppression of the Kol Draahl.  They withstood the constant depredations of the Emperor.  Many believe it was Jiorti tribal elders that had a hand in the creation of both the Soul Riders and the Beast Masters.  Every Jiorti who ever lived, save one, possesses either magical or psychic ability.  That one is the bard Madigan, whose exploits will be explained later.  With the birth of a Jiorti tribesman, a small cache of a unique organic metal is found.  This is known by the Jiorti as being "claimed by Jiorta".  At the child's coming of age ceremony, that metal is forged into a knife and tied to the new tribesman by some means both magical and psychic and possibly more.  Thereafter, the knife is known as a Jortai and it acts as a focus for the tribesman's magical and/or pyschic abilities. So long as the tribesman lives the Jortai will never tarnish or dull and upon their death, the Jortai will quickly corrode and eventually dissolve.  Jiorti culture is very art-centered for through music, song, stories and art the Jiorti maintained their culture during the long hard years of oppression by the Kol Draahl.

Another tribal group of ancient origin, the Gloanoq have various homes throughout the continents of Geis.  A warrior culture, they focus on the complete mastery of but a few weapons.  Some are born within the tribes that have magical or psychic ability.  These are not estranged for they view magic and psionics as natural tools of combat, little different than a hand or sword.  All are trained from a young age in the ancient art of combat, called simply the training.

After the fall of the Kol Draahl, a schism in the Gloanoq tribe was formed.  A perfection of the art of combat was sought, resulting in different paths.  A group that believed a perfect warrior could use any weapon well splintered off, they became known as the Merebal tribe.  None of their number has ever been born with magical or psychic ability.  It is unknown if this is by design or just a natural progression.  Another group believed that only by focusing on one weapon could perfection be achieved.  This group became known as the Nazd clan.  Whereas the Gloanoq and Merebal depend upon actual bloodline affiliation, the Nazd eschew that for talent and training.

The last of the most ancient of tribes is the Mixtali.  Every member of the Mixtali are psychics of varying degrees of power, and though infrequent, mages are not uncommon.  They are a nomadic people, whereas once they used wagons in massive caravans they now live in large groundships.

Members of these tribes may be found in any kingdom and most place a higher loyalty to their tribe than to their kingdom, but as always individuals may vary.


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